GAME 13
RMU (6-6) vs. Youngstown State (13-1)
Saturday, January 8, 2022 • 1:00 p.m.
Beeghly Center • Youngstown, Oh.
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

Opening Tip

- Robert Morris is going for its first three-game conference win streak since joining the Horizon League last season following their sweep of Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend in Moon Township.

- The Colonials face off against YSU following the cancellation of their previously scheduled games against Northern Kentucky and Wright State this weekend. The NKU game has been ruled a no-contest while the WSU game is recorded as forfeit and a 2-0 win for RMU.

- RMU makes its first trip to Youngstown since November 6, 2018, a 69-59 overtime loss for the Colonials.  The two programs split a pair of showdowns last season in Moon Township on their most recent matchup.

- With their win last weekend over the Mastodons, the Colonials improved to 14-5 in January openers dating back to 2003-04 season and earned their first ever win on New Year's Day in program history. The Colonials had suited up for a game on January 1 just twice before Saturday's game: a 71-49 loss at IUPUI last season and a 72-68 loss at North Carolina way back on New Years Day 1988. 

- RMU dealt CSU its first conference loss of the season last week thanks in part to a career day from Alejandra Mastral, who posted a career high 12 points coming off of another career-best four threes.

- 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 4.5 points per game.

- Led by the Charlie Buscaglia, in his sixth season as head coach of the Colonials in 2021-22 as well as his 19th year overall with the program, 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.

- Castedo also went off for RMU in the victory over the Vikings, pouring in 18 points while also grabbing seven boards and three steals, each career-bests.  She has now scored in double figures a team-high six times this year.

- Through nine games, Castedo leads RMU in scoring average (11.1) and is second in assists (27), while Castro sits right behind her at 9.2 PPG. 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.

- Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin is RMU's active leader in points with 749 and moved into 12th-place on the RMU All-Time career assists leader board with four earlier this season in RMU's 2021-22 opener.  She needs two more to crack the top-ten all-time, and has a shot to become the eighth player in school history to eclipse 300.

- Senior guard Esther Castedo is averaging 11.1 points per-game and leads the team in defensive rebounds with 38. 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 86 career games, including 28 starts, 13 of which came last season.

- Junior center Ashya Klopfenstein currently leads all Colonials in rebounding average at 4.7 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 return to action next weekend when they host IUPUI on Friday, January 14 at UPMC Events Center.

GAMEDAY LINKS

- Live Stats

- RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (Youngstown State) – RMU trails Youngstown State by a 18-7 margin through 25 meetings in a rivalry that dates back to the 1982-1983 season.  RMU has won three of its last five, however RMU is winless in Youngstown since an 84-54 drubbing of the Penguins way back on December 18, 2006.  At 13-1 on the year including a 6-0 mark in conference play, YSU has been the class of the conference for much of the season and are off to their best start to a conference season in program history.

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 276 career assists in 122 games, an average of 2.3 per contest. She ranks 12th all-time in program history, and to crack the top 10 in her final season with the Colonials needs two more.  She is also looking to become the eighth player in school history to eclipse 300.

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 81.9 percent (150-for-182) 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.

Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | RMU Athletics Gameday App