PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Robert Morris women's basketball team earned its first ever win in the Horizon League Tournament Tuesday evening against Purdue Fort Wayne, taking down the visiting Mastodons 70-56 at the UPMC Events Center. With the win, the Colonials improve to 14-14 overall and advance to the 2022 Horizon League Quarterfinals this Thursday, March 3 at IUPUI.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials opened up a 12-point first half lead off the backs of one of their best shooting performances of the season, going 55.6% (5-9) from three and 47.1% from the field through the first 20 minutes of action. Esther Castedo knocked down a triple on the Colonials first possession of the night, starting an RMU run that saw four different players hit from deep, including a perfect 2-2 from Simone Morris. Castedo dished out six first-half helpers in addition to seven points, while Sol Castro led RMU with ten points overall. Though the Mastodons would cut the lead down to as close as three points in the second half, a late surge from RMU in the fourth saw the Colonials close things out on a 17-6 run as Mackenzie Amalia scored nine of her season-best 15 points. RMU finished with four scorers in double figures as Amalia was joined by Castro, Morris and Castedo with 14, 11 and 16 each.
DEFEND UPMC
The Colonials can now add their first Horizon League Tournament victory to their long list of home playoff accomplishments, improving to 26-2 lifetime at home in postseason play. The victory also marked the first postseason win at the UPMC Events Center since the Colonials knocked off Wagner 65-61 in overtime of their 2020 NEC quarterfinal, their final game as members of the Northeast Conference.
HELPING HAND
The Colonials set a new season high in assists Tuesday night, dishing out 18 helpers on 27 made field goals, nearly 65% of their total field goals for the night. Castedo led the way with a new career-best nine while Amalia dished three.
BLOCK PARTY
With six total blocks against the Mastodons, Robert Morris bested yet another season high to go along with its new assist mark. A pair each from Castro as well as Simone Morris helped RMU keep Fort Wayne to just 31% from the field. Augustin and Amalia also recorded swats in the victory for RMU.
WELCOME BACK, COACH B
Making his return to the Colonials bench Tuesday evening, Colonials head coach Charlie Buscaglia checked off another major milestone in addition to securing the program's first ever Horizon League Tournament win: his 100th career win as head coach of Robert Morris. The win also moves Coach B to 9-2 all-time in conference tournament games since taking over the helm of the Colonials.
QUOTABLES
"It was just a blessing to be here today after a long time away and having to do a lot from a distance. Just being back with the team and the staff, it was unbelievable. Just proud of how they responded, it wasn't going to be easy and they fought all the way through it. In March, you don't have any easy knockouts, teams fight to the end, and we were ready to take those punches and fight back." - Head Coach Charlie Buscaglia
"We're really proud to get the win at home. Purdue Fort Wayne fought really, really hard, we had to work to get this win. It wasn't an easy win, but it's amazing that we could have the first win of the tournament at home after everything we've been through." - sophomore forward Sol Castro
NEXT UP
The Colonials head out on the road to face IUPUI in the Horizon League quarterfinals this Thursday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m.
