GAME 16
RMU (7-8) vs. YSU (15-2)
Thursday, January 20, 2022 • 7:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center • Moon Township, Pa.
TV: ESPN+ / 22 The Point / MeTV Ohio Valley

Talent: Adam Gusky (pxp) and Justin Pyles (color)
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

GAME 17
RMU (7-8) vs. YSU (15-2)
Saturday, January 22, 2022 • 1:00 p.m.
Beeghly Center • Youngstown, Ohio
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

Opening Tip

- Robert Morris closes out a three-game homestead against the Youngstown State Penguins Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the UPMC Events Center before finishing up the season series two days later with a Saturday matinee at the Beeghly Center.

- The Colonials have already faced YSU once this season in a makeup game following the cancellation of their previously scheduled showdown against Wright State. RMU dropped a close game, 59-53, in that previous meeting.

- The Colonials are looking to snap a two-game losing skid against the Penguins. RMU's last win against YSU was a 61-46 win in Moon Township last season on January 29, 2021. RMU has not won in Youngstown since an 84-54 victory back on December 18, 2006.

RMU saw three separate players reach double-digit scoring last time out against the Penguins, including freshman Simone Morris who posted a career-best 11 points in the loss.

-Sophomore Sol Castro poured in 16 points against IUPUI, the second highest total in one game this season after putting up 19 against Miami.  The Rio Colorado, Argentina native followed it up with a dominant performance on the glass against UIC, grabbing a season-high 12 boards in the win.

- Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin moved into the Top-Ten on the All-Time RMU assists leaderboard against IUPUI, surpassing Janee Brown '17 with her 278th helper. Now at 280 for her career, Augustin is five away from passing Ashley Revelli '16 for ninth-most and needs 20 more to become the eighth player in program history to eclipse 300 assists.

- Freshman Janeira Scott became the final member of the RMU freshman class to make her season debut earlier this season against Morehead State. Simone Morris currently leads all RMU rookies in scoring, averaging 4.7 points per game.

- RMU returns three starters and five letter winners from 2020-21.

- Returning as starters for the Colonials are fifth-year guard Nina Augustin, senior guard Esther Castedo and sophomore forward Sol Castro. The trio combined for 438 points and 177 rebounds during the abbreviated 2020-21 season.

- In a vote of Horizon League head coaches, RMU was picked to finish ninth in the league in 2021-22. Sophomore forward Sol Castro earned a spot on the 2021 Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team.

- Castro (16) and Castedo (12) each reached double-digit points against IUPUI. The duo have both reached double-digit scoring a team-best seven times this season.

- Through 14 games, Castro leads RMU in scoring average (9.6) and total rebounds with 73. Castro paced the Colonials in both categories during her rookie year in 2021, averaging  9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest, both of which led RMU. For her efforts she was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

- Senior guard Esther Castedo is averaging 7.4 points per-game and has been the team's most effective three-point shooter at 21-59 (35.6%) from beyond the arc. She averaged 9.2 points per game during the 2020-21 campaign while also pulling down an average of 3.2 rebounds per contest. She has appeared in 88 career games, including 30 starts, 13 of which came last season.

- Junior center Ashya Klopfenstein is currently tied with Castro for the team lead in rebounding average at 5.4 per-game. She spent the 2020-21 season at Dawson Community College where she averaged 16.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor.

- The RMU freshman class features student-athletes from four different countries. Guard Rebecca Dwomoh is from London, England, while forward Phoenix Gedeon hails from Montreal, Quebec. Guard Alejandra Mastral is a native of Zaragoza, Spain, while the four rookies that are from the United States are from four different states, including California, Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee.

- The Colonials close out the home stand next Thursday, January 20 when they host Youngstown State at 7:00 p.m.

GAMEDAY LINKS

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The All-Time Series (YSU) – RMU is looking to end a two-game skid against a Penguins team that has been red-hot all season.  In their last meeting, RMU managed to cut the YSU lead down to two points in the third however a late surge for the Penguins helped create some valuable breathing room as YSU held on for the win.  Points on consecutive possessions for YSU's Chelsea Olson expanded their lead to seven before back-to-back layups from Lilli Ritz pushed it to as much as 11 before they managed to hold off the Colonials comeback. The Penguins followed up the effort with a win over UIC before just narrowly dropping an OT to against conference faves UPUI on Sunday.

Super Stoppers – Through 14 games, the Colonials have shown themselves to be one of the stingiest defensive teams in the Horizon League, holding opponents to an average of just 57.4 points per game, the third-lowest mark in the league behind Green Bay (56.0) and Youngstown State (56.0). The Colonials also boast the fourth-best opponent field-goal percentage (.394) and third-best three-point field-goal percentage defense (.273).

Helper Helper – Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin gives the Colonials a solid distributor heading into her final year with the program. Heading into Saturday, Augustin has dished out 280 career assists in 125 games, an average of 2.2 per contest. She recently broke into the top-ten all time in career assists and needs 20 to hit 300 for her career.

Free Is Me – In addition to her distribution skills, fifth-year guard Nina Augustin is nearly automatic when getting to the free-throw line. During her career, Augustin has converted 81.4 percent (158-for-194) of her attempts at the charity stripe, which ranks fourth in program history. The career school record is held by former guard Rebecca Navarro, who shot 84.8 percent (95-for-112) at the line from 2013 to 2017. Augustin, meanwhile, owns the RMU single-season record for free-throw percentage when she converted 89.4 percent (59-for-66) of her attempts during the 2019-20 campaign.

De La Sol – Despite a season both shortened and impacted by a global pandemic, forward Sol Castro shined in her first season with the Colonials in 2020-21, becoming the first freshman to lead RMU in scoring in almost 20 years. Castro averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, both team highs, and also recorded three double-doubles. One of three Colonials to start all 17 games last season, Castro reached double figures in scoring nine times, including a career-high 23 points in a 50-43 victory over Wright State (1/16/21) at the UPMC Events Center. In that same contest against the Raiders, Castro grabbed 11 boards, marking her first career double-double.

Making The Grade – RMU posted a 3.824 term grade point average (GPA) during the 2020-21 academic year and finished with the No. 3 ranking in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Division I Team Honor Roll. It marked the third consecutive year the Colonials finished third as well as the fifth straight year RMU finished in the top four. The Colonials are the only NCAA Division I school to rank in the top four in five consecutive years. Of RMU's three returning starters, guard Nina Augustin owns a 3.95 cumulative GPA as a finance major, guard Esther Castedo studies management and has maintained a 3.83 cumulative GPA and in her first academic year forward Sol Castro posted a 3.83 GPA while owning sport management as a major.

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