GAME 3
Akron (0-2) @ RMU (1-1)
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 | 11:00 a.m.
UPMC Events Center (4,000) | Moon Township, Pa.
 
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Adam Gusky (pxp), Justin Pyles (color)
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Twitter & Instagram: @RMUWBasketball
 
Opening Tip

-The RMU women's basketball team will come back home to UPMC Events Center as they'll host Akron on Wednesday for a special 11:00 a.m. tipoff. The contest 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.

- Through two games the Colonials lead the Horizon League in blocked shots with 12, Vuletich leads the conference individually averaging 2.5 blocks per game.

- After competing against the Zips, the Colonials will hit the road again as they travel to Fairfax, Virginia and battle George Mason on Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
 
AKRON LINKS
Live Stats
Video
RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (Akron) - The Colonials will battle Akron for the ninth time in their series history with RMU owning a 3-5 overall record against the Zips. Last season, both teams met in non-conference action as Akron pulled away from RMU, 68-50. Morris led the Colonials with nine points while Dwomoh had a team high five rebounds and three assists while recording five points. The last win for the Colonials occurred during the 2011 season when RMU pulled away with an 85-78 victory at home.

Scouting the Zips – Akron is coming off a 17-13 overall season as they finished 8-10 in the Mid American Conference and a spot in the league tournament. The Zips were selected 6th out of 12 teams in the MAC Preseason Poll announced on November 2nd. Akron will be led by senior forward Reagan Bess who was tabbed a preseason first-team honoree in the MAC as she averaged 17.7 points per game along with 7.7 boards last season. Bess is part of a Zips squad that returns four seniors and will welcome in nine newcomers to the team. Akron is also welcoming a new head coach as the Zips brought in Ryan Gensler who was previously an assistant coach at Illinois last season.

Single Game High's vs Saint Francis (11/6) - In the Colonials first game of the season, and win of the season, a few players had good performances to begin the year. Vuletich collected a career high four blocks while also snagging 10 boards in the win. Mastral and Morris both led the team with 13 points last Monday.

Single Game High's vs St. Bonaventure (11/11) - RMU fell short against the Bonnies but Morris had another solid outing as she led the team with 17 points. Barnwell finished with 14 points and a team leading two steals in the loss on Saturday.

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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