In a series dominated by Kent State the past three meetings, Robert Morris accepted the challenge and ended the losing streak against the Golden Flashes last night at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials defeated Kent State 78- 44 in a huge statement win.
This victory was the largest non-conference defeat by the Colonials since December 28, 2006 when they defeated Monmouth.
From start to finish, head coach Sal Buscaglia did not look to his superstar sophomore Artemis Spanou, but rather his talented junior-point guard, Briannica Tye. On both sides of the ball, Tye excelled above all with 18 points, 4 assists and 6 steals.
“In practice this week, we went over how it would be hard for them to guard me and how I needed to focus on hitting the mid-range shots,” said Tye about her game.
Tye continued, “I’m very much pass-first, but when the shot is there, take it. That’s something I haven’t been doing enough is taking the shot.”
She is averaging six points per game along with nine assists and two steals.
Spanou did not have the game of her career, scoring only 4 points, all coming from free-throws, and committing four personal fouls. Senior center, Mary Durojaye contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Robert Morris stormed out to a 44-19 lead at the end of the first half. From the 2:18 mark of the left in the half, the Colonials went on a 10-0 run with two 3-point shots from junior guard, April Williams.
The Colonials dominated the glass with 48 rebounds, 23 offensive and 25 defensive. The Golden Flashes collected 34 rebounds, seven on offense and 27 on defense. Robert Morris was 9-21 from beyond the arc and owned a 37.0% shooting from the field. Kent State shot 16-44 from the field and 4-13 from three-point zones.
As for the Golden Flashes, turnovers were the story instead of hitting shots. 36 turnovers were committed by Kent State, compared to 17 by the Colonials, in the game.
Robert Morris capitalized on the Kent State turnovers, turning in those mistakes into 44 points.
Both teams got into foul trouble early in the first half, taking three personal fouls each in the first ten minutes of the game.
Robert Morris came into this game winning their season-opener against Coppin State, 62-47 at home. As for Kent State, the Golden Flashes opened up against Marshall, falling to the Thundering Herd, 93-55.
Against Coppin State, four women scored in double-figures. The Colonials followed suit having three ladies score in double-figures for the second straight game: Durojaye with 16, Tye with 18 and junior-guard April Williams with 15.
Tye led all scorers with 18 points tied with Kent State’s Trisha Krewson; who led all Golden Flashes players in scoring.
Tye and Williams piled up six steals each, contributing on the defensive-side of the ball.
Robert Morris is 3-4 all-time against Kent State after tonight’s matchup; in a series that dates back to the 1980’s. Kent State has been the victor in the past three contests, all played at the M.A.C Center at Kent State University. Buscaglia is now 3-2 against Kent State in his career.
The Colonials will play Central Michigan at home this coming Friday, the 18th, looking to start 3-0 in the 2011-12 campaign.
Tye is preparing for the game against Central Michigan and is looking for one simple thing: a home win, “The team is just looking for a third-straight win. Just to play hard, press hard and to come and get the victory. Since we all want it, we’re going to take it.”
