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A pair of Northeast Conference unbeatens meet on Saturday, January 10, when the Robert Morris Colonials (5-8, 3-0 NEC) and Sacred Heart Pioneers (7-7, 4-0) get together for a 2:00 tip at the Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn. The Colonials captured their first road win of the season in a 16-point victory over Mount St. Mary's and have used devastating at the start of the second half in each of their last two NEC victories. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, has won three straight by an average of 13.0 points while sporting a 4-2 mark at home.
Musket Shots
- Robert Morris held Mount St. Mary's scoreless for the first 9:30 of the second half on Monday
- Senior guard Sade Logan needs 50 points to hit the 1,000 point plateau for her career
- The Colonials have won nine straight conference road games and 11 overall NEC games away from the Sewall Center
- RMU has outscored its last two opponents 40-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half
- RMU was selected to win the Northeast Conference according to a poll of league coaches
- Robert Morris won the NEC regular season and tournament titles in 2007 and 2008
All-Time Series vs. Sacred Heart
Robert Morris has played Sacred Heart the fewest times, 17, of any conference opponent. The Pioneers hold an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series despite the Colonials winn three of the last four meetings, including the 2007 Northeast Conference Tournament Championship game. RMU won the inaugural meeting of the series in 2000 before Sacred Heart won five straight, eight of nine and 10 of 13 through the 2005 NEC Playoffs.
On Tap
The Colonials finish their second consecutive three-game road trip as they push through a rigorous portion of their schedule features six of seven contests on the road. Robert Morris wraps up its tour of Connecticut by taking on Quinnipiac in a 7:00 p.m. contest at TD Banknorth Arena on Monday, January 12.
Scouting the Pioneers
Sacred Heart has won three straight games to even their season record at 7-7 and are in a three-way tie for first place in the Northeast Conference with a 3-0 mark. They are averaging 66.4 points per game while allowing opponents to score an average of 63.9. The Pioneers lead the league in field goal percentage, knocking down 42.9 percent of their shots including 36.8 percent from three-point range. Opponents are shooting 41.1 percent and match the Pioneers 36.8 percent form long range. Alisa Apo leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game and assists with 57. Kaitlin Sowinski adds 15.0 points in addition to her team-leading 7.2 rebounds per contest. Callan Taylor chips in with 10.1 points.
On the Road in the NEC
Robert Morris has won nine consecutive Northeast Conference road games and 11 straight contests away from the Sewall Center against NEC teams dating back to six-point loss at Quinnipiac on January 5, 2008. After the loss to Bobcats last season, the Colonials rolled off eight consecutive regular season NEC road victories and then picked up two more wins against St. Francis (N.Y.) and Monmouth in the conference tournament at Long Island's Wellness Center. The Colonials only road win this season came at Mount St. Mary's, a 16-point margin, 60-46.
Shooting Struggles
The Colonials have managed to shoot better than 40 percent in just four games this season, three of those contests coming at the Charles L. Sewall Center where they are shooting 45.1 percent from the floor. Overall, RMU is hitting at a 38.7 percent rate this season. Against Coppin State (12.30.08), Robert Morris was more effective from three-point range (10-31, 32.3) than inside the arc (9-30, 30.0). Only twice in 13 games has Robert Morris hit at least 50.0 percent - against Wright State (26-46, 56.5) and against St. Francis (N.Y.) (29-58, 50.0).
Scintillating Second Half Runs
Robert Morris has gone on impressive runs to open the second half in each of its last two wins over Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis (Pa.). The Colonials held Mount St. Mary's scoreless for the first 9:30 of the second half while breaking open a five-point halftime contest with a 17-0 run. Perhaps more impressive was the team's 36-6 run against Saint Francis which turned a two-point lead into a 32-point lead. RMU, leading 32-30 with 4:31 left in the first half, would outscored the Red Flash by 30 points over the next 12:53 to take a 68-36 lead with 11:38 left in regulation.
"Guarding" The Glass
Robert Morris has had a guard lead the team in rebounding in nine of the team's 13 games this season and three of the team's top-five rebounders are all listed as guards. Senior forward Grace Williams led the squad with 10 rebounds against Xavier (11.14.08) and junior forward Monica Jones had 10 boards to pace the squad against Howard (11.29.08) and six against Coppin State (12/30/08). Junior guard Monet Johnson has led the team in rebounding five times, Angela Pace twice and Kendra Williams twice.
From Way Downtown
The Colonials are averaging 21.0 three-point attempts per game and 7.2 three-pointers a contest this season, on pace to challenge the previous team records of 605 three-point attempts and 188 trifectas by the 2005-06 squad. Kendra Williams leads the squad with 78 three-point attempts followed by Sade Logan with 65 and Monet Johnson with 59. The 2005-06 team made 188 of those three-point attempts, a .310 conversion rate. This season, the Colonials are hitting at 32.9 percent.
Show Me the Monet
Junior guard Monet Johnson has nearly matched the record season posted by senior guard Sade Logan last year. Johnson is currently 20th in the nation in scoring averaging 19.4 points per game. Johnson has scored in double-digits in every game, shooting at a .415 clip overall and .275 from three-point range. Johnson also leads the team in rebounding at 7.7 boards per game.
Chasing Victories 100 & 600
Head Coach Sal Buscaglia is looking for his 100th victory with Robert Morris. The sixth-year head coach and 30-year veteran has 94 wins with the Colonials, second most in program history (211-137; Dan Swalga - 1978-91). Buscaglia started the season 23 wins shy of 600 for his career. He currently has 579 career wins in his 31st season as a head coach.
Sal-vation
In a span of just five years, Sal Buscaglia has turned the Robert Morris University women's basketball team into a perennial conference power and national contender. When Buscaglia arrived at RMU, the Colonials had only won seven games the previous three seasons. After suffering through his worst season record-wise as a head coach in 2003-04, Buscaglia turned the RMU program into a 20-win squad. After going 20-9 last season, Buscaglia became the first head coach in the program's history to guide a team to back-to-back 20 win seasons and led RMU to its first-ever NCAA Tournament while winning a team record 24 games in 2006-07. The Colonials repeated at NEC Tournament champions and returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08, posting a 23-10 record.
Consistent Kendra Williams
Senior Kendra Williams has played all but 18 minutes this season and has started 64 consecutive games at point guard, missing just two starts since her sophomore season. Williams is averaging a career-best 11.0 points this season and has already eclipsed her career-high for points three times this season. She scored 20 points in the Colonials win over Wright State, going 7-for-11 from the field including 4-of-5 from three-point range. She is also averaging 4.5 assists and ranks 46th nationally with a 1.78 assist to turnover ratio. Williams is the only Robert Morris player who has played more than one season with the Colonials, joining the club as a freshman in 2005-06.
