GAME 2
RMU (1-0) @ St. Bonaventure (0-1)
Saturday, November 11, 2023 | 1:30 p.m.
Reilly Center (5,480) | St. Bonaventure, NY.
 
TV: ESPN+
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Twitter & Instagram: @RMUWBasketball
 
Opening Tip

-The RMU women's basketball team will continue on the road to start their season as they travel to New York and battle St. Bonaventure in a non-conference contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN+.

- Led by eighth year head coach Charlie Buscaglia, the Colonials return three starters and six letter winners in 2023-24, including guards Alejandra Mastral, Simone Morris and Rebecca Dwomoh.

- RMU is coming off an 11-19 season a year ago while going 5-15 in the Horizon League and earning a spot in the conference tournament. The Colonials unfortunately were bounced from the Barbasol Horizon League Tournament, falling at #7 seed Milwaukee.

- Junior center Danielle Vuletich averaged 7.8 points and 4.1 boards while shooting at a .460 clip in 30 games last season. Junior guard Simone Morris produced 7.7 points and 5.0 caroms per contest while junior guard Rebecca Dwomoh chipped in 7.1 points, 3.1 boards, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 30 contests a season ago.

- Junior guard Alejandra Mastral finished 2022-23 with 6.5 points, 3.2 caroms, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while sophomore guard Louella Allana registered 3.7 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 rebounds off the bench.

- A total of eight newcomers join the Colonials in 2023-24, including a pair of transfers. Junior guard Stephanie Theodossakos is a transfer from the University of Tampa while junior guard/forward Naomi Barnwell spent the last two seasons at Monroe College.

- Recapping the 60-51 win over Saint Francis to open the season, Morris and Mastral both scored a team high 13 points. Vuletich corralled a team high 10 boards, along with nine points. Allana registered a team high three assists as well as chipping in six points. Barnwell stuffed the stat sheet leading the team in steals (2) while also having eight points and nine boards. Saint Francis was never able to hold the lead against the Colonials all game. RMU produced their most efficient quarter during the second frame when they scored 20 points while holding the Red Flash to six points.

- After battling the Bonnies, the Colonials will get ready for the home opener when they host Akron on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the UPMC Events Center. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949.
 
ST. BONAVENTURE LINKS
Live Stats
Video
RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (St. Bonaventure) - The Colonials will be taking on the Bonnies for the first and only time this season. RMU owns a 1-2 record against St. Bonaventure with most recently the Colonials posting a big win last season, 63-39. Phoenix Gedeon paced the Colonials with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a team high 10 boards. Vuletich was a main contributor on the floor as she posted 12 points along with six rebounds. Dwomoh ended with 11 points and five rebounds along with three assists to help the Colonials come away with the big win.

Scouting the Bonnies – St. Bonaventure is coming off a 6-26 overall season as they finished 3-13 in the Atlantic 10 conference and a spot in the league tournament. The Bonnies were selected 14th out of 15 teams in the A10 Preseason Poll announced in September. There won't be too many new players for the Bonnies as they return seven players who played significant minutes last season. St. Bonaventure welcomes three transfers to the squad with redshirt junior Isabellah Middleton bringing the most scoring prowess as she averaged 17.5 points per game at Slippery Rock last season. Saint Bonaventure comes into this season with a roster that features five seniors, two juniors and two sophomores.

First Action at The Mo - Three Colonial freshmen got their first minutes of playing time against Saint Francis as Tuana Coskun, Madison O'Dell, and Micah O'Dell all contributed off the bench. Coskun had 20 minutes on the court as she registered five points, two rebounds, and one block in her Colonial debut. Both O'Dell sisters had over 15 minutes of time as Madison recorded her first points off a three-point jumper, meanwhile Micah had two points, two assists, and two rebounds in her collegiate debut.

International Journey - The RMU Women's Basketball team features eight international players: Tuana Coskun (Istanbul, Turkiye) Louella Allana (Laval, Quebec), Eden Monka (Montreal, Quebec), Camila Bozan (Santiago, Chile), Rebecca Dwomoh (London, England), Paris Kirk (Kelowna, B.C.), Naomi Barnwell (Chanteloup-Les-Vignes, France) and Alejandra Mastral (Zaragoza, Spain).

STUDENT-Athletes - The RMU women's basketball program was honored for its work in the classroom, earning the top spot in the 2022-23 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for NCAA Division I. The Colonials posted a team grade point average (GPA) of 3.807 during the 2022-23 academic year to earn the top honor for the first time in program history. RMU has finished in the top four in NCAA Division I for team GPA in each of the last seven seasons, culminating in the top mark in 2022-23. The unprecedented run began in 2016-17 when the Colonials finished second with a 3.726 team GPA. RMU finished fourth a year later (3.748) and also finished third in 2018-19 (3.767), 2019-20 (3.767) and 2020-21 (3.824). Last season the Colonials finished at No. 2 with a team GPA of 3.762.


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