GAME 22
RMU (9-12) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (8-15, 6-9)
Friday, February 11, 2022 • 5:00 p.m. EST
Gates Center • Fort Wayne, Indiana
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

GAME 23
RMU (9-12) vs. Cleveland State (15-4)
Sunday, February 13, 2022 • 2:00 p.m.
Wolstein Center • Cleveland, Ohio
TV: ESPN+
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

Opening Tip

- RMU wraps up its four-game road swing with stops at Purdue Fort Wayne and Cleveland State.

- The Colonials are looking to get back into the win column following two straight losses at Milwaukee and Green Bay.

- The Colonials have won each of their previous two matchups against the Mastodons, including a 52-48 triumph on New Years Day earlier this season. They also took down CSU once this season as well with a 63-55 win at the UPMC Events Center on December 30.

- Road matchups have proved challenging this season for RMU, who is just 3-7 away from Moon Township.

- Robert Morris poured in a remarkable 73 points in the win over Oakland earlier this season, their highest offensive output in a game since a 77-63 win over Purdue Fort Wayne in their regular season finale last February.

- Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin passed Mikalah Mulrain for first place on the program all-time games played list Saturday at Green Bay, suiting up for game #131 in her Colonials career.  Currently eighth on the all-time program assist leaderboard and climbing, Augustin set a new season high for threes on the afternoons going 4-8 from behind the arc and led RMU with 12 points.

- Augustin continues to climb the RMU assist leaderboard after the weekend. Now at 295 for her career, Augustin passed Ashley Revelli '16 for ninth-most earlier this season and is currently tied with Kelly Sabol '92 for eighth place. She is also on track 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 5.1 points per game.

- Sophomore Mackenzie Amalia earned her first career start Saturday against the Phoenix, finishing with nine points on 3-9 from behind the arc.  Amalia appeared in 32 contests over two seasons for RMU before finally getting the nod Saturday.

- 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.

- Despite a lopsided score after the first half against Green Bay, the Colonials stuck to their game and eventually found their footing in the final 20 minutes Saturday, outscoring the Phoenix 33-25 over the last two quarters.  Augustin and Amalia each buried three three-pointers in the second half, while the Colonials hit seven of their last twelve from the field to end the game.

- Through 18 games, Sol Castro leads RMU in blocks with 13 on the season, nearly double the next-closest mark on the team (Klopfenstein, 9). The sophomore also leads the Colonials in offensive boards with 36 and rebounding average at 5.3 per game.

- Senior guard Esther Castedo is averaging 11.4 points per-game and has been the team's most effective three-point shooter at 28-78 (35.9%) 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 slightly behind 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.

- RMU returns home to close out its home schedule with a game against Wright State on February 18 before their home finale and Senior Day against Northern Kentucky.

GAMEDAY LINKS

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The All-Time Series (Purdue Fort Wayne) – The Colonials are riding a two-game win streak vs. the Mastodons, having already defeated them earlier this season 52-48 back on New Years Day at UPMC Events Center. At 8-15 overall and 6-9 in Horizon League action, the Mastodons are currently in ninth place in the HL standings, one spot behind RMU.  The duo of Shayla Sellers and Sylare Starks have been PFW's offensive catalysts this season, with both averaging 10.6 points a game.

The All-Time Series (Cleveland State) – At 15-4 overall and 10-3 in conference play, the Vikings have established themselves as one of the teams in the upper-echelon of the Horizon League this season.  Led by conference leading scorer Destiny Leo, CSU is riding a two-game win streak and will be looking for revenge after the Colonials handed them their first conference loss of the year way back on December 30.  Esther Castedo went off for RMU in the win, dropping 18 points and adding seven assists in the victory.

Super Stoppers – Through 20 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 58.5 points per game, the fourth-lowest mark in the league behind Green Bay (56.1), IUPUI (56.5) and Youngstown State (56.3). The Colonials also boast one of the best three-point field-goal percentage defenses (.282).

Helper Helper – Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin gives the Colonials a solid distributor heading into her final year with the program. Heading into the weekend Augustin has dished out 295 career assists in 131 games, an average of 2.3 per contest. She recently broke into the top-ten all time in career assists and needs five 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 81.6 percent (160-for-196) 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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