MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – 20 points by Aislin Malcolm led the Colonials to a big 74-64 win over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at the UPMC Events Center on Thursday afternoon to kick off a three-game home stand for RMU.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• Purdue Fort Wayne started the first quarter with a jumper to go up 2-0 before the Colonials went on a 13-0 run to begin their first-half scoring, quickly finding themselves up 13-2 over the Mastodons.
• A layup by Purdue Fort Wayne's Lili Krasovec cut the Colonials' lead down to seven, with the Mastodons trailing 15-8.
• With three seconds on the clock, Bailey Kuhns made a layup to put RMU up by double-digits, with the Colonials leading 21-10 going into the second quarter.
• Aislin Malcolm led the Colonial offense in the first quarter with nine points, which included two baskets from beyond the arc.

SECOND QUARTER

• The Mastodons began the second quarter with two three-point buckets from Rylee Bess to make it 21-16.
• A 6-0 run by the Colonials extended their lead back out to 11, with a pair of free throws from Ava Leroux making it 27-16 with 6:01 to go.
• Myriam Traore gave the Colonials their biggest lead of the first half with a deep three from Jada Lee to make it 34-22.
• Purdue Fort Wayne closed the half out on a 4-0 run to make it 34-26 going into halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

• Four threes in a row by the Mastodons gave Purdue Fort Wayne just its second lead of the game since the first basket of the game, with the Mastodons taking a 42-38 lead with 4:02 to go.
• The Colonials went on 7-0 run, highlighted by a three-point basket from Jada Lee on a Mastodon turnover to put RMU back on top 43-42 before Eva Levingston hit a jump shot to extend the lead to three.
• With two seconds on the clock, Myriam Traore made a layup and got the foul to give RMU a 52-46 lead going into the final quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Jada Lee hit her second three-point shot of the game to put the Colonials up by nine to start the final quarter.
• A three-point basket by Myriam Traore with 3:25 on the clock ignited an 8-0 run for the Colonials to extend RMU's lead to a game-high 16 points, with the Colonials up 74-58 with 2:27 to go following Bailey Kuhn's made three.
• The Mastodons tried to mount a comeback, closing out the game on a 6-0 run, but came up short, falling 74-64 to the Colonials following a missed three.
• RMU went 4-for-6 from deep in the final quarter while shooting an impressive 58.3% from the floor to pull out the big win over the Mastodons.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
The duo of Aislin Malcolm and Myriam Traore combined for 37 of the Colonials' 74 points. Malcolm had 20 points to lead all scorers while Traore tied a career-high 17 points. The pair combined for six of the team's nine made three-point baskets, with the Colonials going 9-for-18 from deep. Eva Levingston was the third Colonial to score in double-digits, with Levingston picking up 10 on the night. Levingston, along with Jada Lee, led RMU on the glass with both pulling down six rebounds. Lee also had a game-high six assists.
 
As a team, RMU shot an impressive 50% in the game, going 27-for-54 from the floor and 9-for-18 from beyond the arc. RMU and Purdue Fort Wayne each pulled down 29 rebounds while the Colonials forced 16 turnovers by the Mastodons. RMU held the lead for 37:29 minutes while Purdue Fort Wayne had the lead for 1:51 minutes.
 
UP NEXT
RMU (11-4, 4-2 HL) has a quick turnaround as the Colonials welcome Northern Kentucky on Saturday morning for the second matchup of the season between the pair. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the UPMC Events Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on SIDEARM.