Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris women's basketball team began its regular season with a win at the UPMC Events Center, beating Saint Francis University 49-36. RMU now owns a 1-0 record.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Starting for the Colonials in the first tilt of the season was
Mackenzie Amalia,
Rebecca Dwomoh,
Phoenix Gedeon,
Simone Morris and
Alejandra Mastral. Early on, RMU poured in the buckets, going on a 10-0 run. Dwomoh scored early in the paint, followed by three consecutive two-point shots scored by Gedeon.
Danielle Vuletich subbed in and added a quick layup to take a double-digit lead. It took eight minutes and 13 seconds into the first quarter for RMU to give up their first bucket. After a great defensive first quarter, the Colonials were up 12-4. "It's who we are," stated head coach
Charlie Buscaglia. "We work on defense every day. Defense doesn't come from being crazy out there. You have to defend with intelligence. I thought the intensity and pace we played with caused a lot of turnovers."
In the second quarter, Gedeon got right back to work drawing a foul to get the team in the offensive zone. She then made a jump shot making the score 14-5. Next time down the court, Morris earned an offensive rebound and got the ball back out to Dwomoh who scored the first trey of the day. With the score at 17-6, Vuletich added a layup off a turnover and in the next drive, Amalia shot from distance scoring a three. In the final minute, Mastral scored her first bucket. The Colonials took a 24-10 lead going into the half.
Dwomoh, Gedeon and Vuletich all scored in the paint to start the third, gaining a 30-13 edge over the Red Flash. Driving to the hoop next was the Spaniard, Mastral scoring off a steal made by
Louella Allana.
Paris Kirk came off the bench and got herself onto the score sheet, tipping in a layup off an offensive rebound. Ending the third quarter, Vuletich scored another layup, and RMU remained in the lead after thirty minutes of play, 36-21.
Two minutes and 35 seconds into the fourth quarter, head coach
Charlie Buscaglia called a timeout. Sophomore forward wasn't finished producing yet as she worked in the paint, moving RMU up to a 40-27 advantage. The following time up the court, Dwomoh took it herself for a driving layup. Later in the quarter, the Red Flash turned it over caused by Amalia. The junior point guard quickly made a pass to Dwomoh scoring her second trey of the day. Dwomoh scored another jump shot a minute later and RMU won, 49-36.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Leading the team in points was Gedeon and Dwomoh both with 14. Dwomoh also scored the most three-pointers with two on the day. Buscaglia added, "Rebecca is a sophomore and she's one of our veterans now." Gedeon was able to draw seven fouls. Mastral recorded the most minutes played (37:47), and provided three steals on defense. Vuletich battled for a team high six boards, and scored the second most points on the team with eight. Amalia produced a team high six assists and also three steals.
In the game, Saint Francis never held a lead once. RMU's biggest lead was 20 points during the third quarter and saw their best scoring run in the first quarter with 10 straight points. The Colonials got to the basket, scoring 30 in the paint. RMU scored 12 or more points in each quarter.
OVERALL
"We came out ready" said head coach
Charlie Buscaglia. "I thought our defense worked hard and caused a lot of turnovers early in the game. We just continued every possession to grind. That's what I was most pleased about."
NEXT UP
The Colonials continue their four-game home stand this Thursday (11/10) versus an Atlantic 10 conference opponent, George Mason. After that is Waynesburg (11/12) and Wheeling (11/14). RMU will then get a nine-day break before heading out on the road.
QUOTABLE'S
"Right now, we're focused on our next game. We're going to go as hard as we possibly can each time we play." –
Head Coach Charlie Buscaglia
"It feels good to win, but we have to continue to work and we have another game soon ahead. The team is focused on that." –
Sophomore guard, Rebecca Dwomoh
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