Moon Township, Pa. – The Colonials came back on Saturday afternoon with a win as RMU downed Charleston, 71-65. With a victory, RMU improves to 4-6 overall while the Cougars have dropped to 6-3 on the young season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
With the Colonials down 51-50 to start the fourth quarter it was the RMU offense that came alive and scored 21 points in the final frame. It was the resurgence of
Naomi Barnwell's offensive game as she had nine of her 11 total points in the fourth quarter, while freshman
Micah O'Dell added six points of her own in the last quarter.
RMU started the game on fire from the field as the Colonials began the contest with a 10-2 run highlighted by six points from
Danielle Vuletich. Charleston called a timeout to regroup but it was the quick strike offense from the Colonials that kept the Cougars off balance throughout the game.
COMPLETE WIN
The Colonials scored the second most points off the bench all season as they compiled 29 points throughout the contest. The bench scoring proved to be a difference in the game as Charleston only had one bench point while RMU was able to mix and match lineups to force Charleston to adjust on the fly.
Natalie Johnson had a career-high 13 points off the bench as the sophomore knocked down five big field goals in the game. Â
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Vuletich compiled career-highs in both points (19) and rebounds (16) as the junior was part of an interior offense that had 28 points in the paint. Barnwell had 11 points and also grabbed five boards for the Colonials, most of which coming in the second half. Alex Mastral was a key component of the offense as she had a career-high seven assists while chipping in four points and a block.
QUOTABLES
"I thought today we took a big step. We had to work hard all week, and we did a lot of cardio because we knew we were going to have to run the floor against this team", said Coach Buscaglia. "We are going to see teams like this that are fast and can press and we have to be ready for it in the future".
UP NEXT
The Colonials will have one fay of rest before they come back home to face off against Fairmont State at the UPMC Events Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
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