MOON TOWNSHIP— Robert Morris women’s basketball returned to the UPMC Events Center on Wednesday afternoon in their home opener, taking on the Akron Zips in non-conference play. The Colonials fell in overtime with a final score of 63-58.
The Colonials came out of the gates with some excellent ball movement, allowing ample space for their guards to knock down shots early. Madison O’Dell provided immediate impact off the bench thanks to that ball movement. All eight of her points were scored in the first quarter.
Head coach Charlie Buscaglia is a big advocate for defense, which can sometimes slow other teams down and create low-scoring games. This game did not feel like a defensive “grind,” as the RMU guards constantly moved around and tried to get open.
“There was progress made with playing fast and taking the early look when it was there,” Buscaglia said. “We made some big improvements from our last game at St. Bonaventure. We have some younger players that are learning, and we’re trying to focus on the positives. We had an opportunity to win today, but hopefully with this experience, we’ll get better.”
The Colonials did what they could to try and stop Reagan Bass, who finished with a game-high 22 points and 19 rebounds.
Buscaglia discussed postgame what the game plan was coming into this matchup against a tough Akron team.
“We’ve been really focusing on the freedom of when we get the ball,” Buscaglia said. “Deciding to really push it and make sure they’re getting back on defense. If they’re not, we’re looking to attack them early, get the ball to the player who is rim running, looking to skip the ball out to the perimeter and knock down the open shot.”
The identity of this Colonials team is, so far, a “three-and-D” team. The Colonials have taken 76 threes through their first three games this season compared to just 50 last season.
Buscaglia constantly reassures his players that they should not be scared if they miss a few shots in a row, especially from beyond the arc.
“When we had those looks against Bonaventure, we weren’t taking it and didn’t have a good pace to shoot at,” he said. “Today, we did. It definitely helped us and gave us a chance to win this game.”
The Colonials gave Akron a hard time on the perimeter, as they made just one three-pointer. However, the Zips scored 40 points in the paint, helping them squeak a win. Coach Buscaglia discussed the perimeter offense and defense.
“We thought that if we did a better job with our actions on the perimeter, we could get loose,” Buscaglia said. “Teams are going to dare us to shoot the ball when they see the eye-popping numbers. We were better prepared to shoot the ball today. We’re growing in that aspect and it’s a work in progress.”
After just three games, there is still plenty of work to be done, but Buscaglia has confidence that his team will improve and potentially throw some teams off guard.
“We’re playing faster, but we have to be better with our feet,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll continue to grow in that aspect because it will be a different look than some teams are expecting.”
The Colonials return to action on Saturday as they travel to Fairfax, Va., to take on the George Mason Patriots at 3 p.m.
