MOON TOWNSHIP– RMU women’s basketball is in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, and they looked to right the ship on Wednesday.
Robert Morris (6-14, 2-9 Horizon League) welcomed the chance to change that as they hosted Detroit Mercy (13-8, 6-4 Horizon League), but ultimately fell by a score of 56-39.
The recent trend of poor shooting continued on the offensive end early as the Colonials finished the first quarter shooting 2/14 from the field, good for 14%. However, their defense would keep them in the game, as they were down ten at the end of the first, only letting up fifteen points through the first ten minutes.
That would continue as RMU was shooting 4/23 from the field, good for just 17%, at the first media timeout in the second quarter, and were down 20-11. The Colonials would finish the half down 25-15, shooting 6/32 from the floor, good for 19%.
Head Coach Charlie Buscaglia spoke after the game on the tough time his team had shooting in the first half, but also still being in the game.
“How many teams can say they were shooting 14% and still only down ten?,” Buscaglia said. “It is because we are defending and working hard. We had each other back most of the game; there were some screw-ups, but nobody is perfect. When you are going through a slump, like you are talking about, sometimes your effort falls, but that is not the case.”
Along with the rough night from the field, the Colonials also had a tough time with turnovers, with 16 and scoring points off turnovers, 18 of them off 27 turnovers.
The Colonials did shoot a good portion of their shots were coming from deep, chucking up 27 shots from behind the arc, but had a tough time getting the charity stripe, with only nine free throws attempted.
“I’m always noticing missed foul calls, but I’m not going to come on here and blast the officials. I thought we went up strong,” Coach Buscaglia said. “There were some calls that I thought could’ve gone our way. The lack of free throws was not because of our lack of willingness to get to the line.”
One positive, despite the team defense, was Danielle Vuletich. She had a double-double and kept numerous possessions alive with offensive rebounds, specifically in the second quarter. She was a force on the glass with 12 rebounds and was able to post up the Titans for most of the day on the block.
“Dani has some great tools in her game,” Coach Buscaglia said. “She has really developed with her post moves with her back to the basket. She is the type of player who could see this more and more.”
Emma Trawally Porta led the Titans with 14 points and eight rebounds. Detroit Mercy also outrebounded the Colonials 43-28.
“This team is not quitting. They are working,” Coach Buscaglia said. “The last thing this team was doing was putting their heads down and quitting. We work on staying together. Everyone is human.”
The Colonials look to put an end to their tough stretch on Saturday, Jan. 27 at Youngstown State. Tip off is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.
