YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO– The Colonials have struggled to put points up on the board as of late, but they looked to change the narrative against Horizon League rival, the Youngstown State Penguins. The Penguins and Colonials sit within one game of each other in the Horizon League standings.
The first quarter started rocky as the Colonials had seven turnovers, which led to nine YSU points in the first. The Colonials struggled to shoot but they still managed to get double digits and remain within striking distance. Tensions were high on the court as the game became scrappy within the first few minutes.
The same trend continued in the second quarter as bodies hit the floor in a scrappy matchup. Robert Morris has been dealing with Youngstown’s dominant center, Emily Saunders. Danielle Vuletich and the rest of the colonials’ forwards have been holding their own against the center. Things went downward as the Penguins took a sizeable lead at the tail end of the second quarter.
The Colonials went into the break trailing by 15 points. The Colonials have struggled to score and stop the penguins in the paint. The Penguins had 16 points in the paint, four more than the Colonials.
The Colonials came out of halftime shooting well, but they haven’t found an answer for Saunders or their turnover issue. The colonials have been trying to crawl back, but they could not make it happen as they headed to the last ten minutes of regulation trailing by 18.
The Penguins continued to drain their shots, and they eventually got out to a 25-point lead in the fourth. At this point in the game, the Colonials are trailing in almost every statistical category besides rebounds. The Colonials had no answer to Youngstown’s offensive outburst in the fourth. The Colonials ended up dropping the game by 27.
“We’re going through a real rough patch right now, obviously on the scoreboard,” Coach Buscaglia said. “We’re continuing to work hard in practice and trying to keep our heads up during this tough patch.”
The team has been struggling to score points recently, but they have been trying to keep their head up despite the team’s rough patch. The story of today’s game was Emily Saunders and She was a game wrecker.
“We didn’t do a good job today of bothering the pass they throw up to her. She’s tall and strong. So if you allow her to get that pin, you have to do more on and off the ball,” Coach Buscaglia commented on her play.
Youngstown’s head coach John Nicolais spoke on Saunder’s performance, “Em has the size and ability to be a mismatch inside.”
Saunders was a mismatch and it showed as she led the team in points with 23.
The Colonials will take on Milwaukee on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. back at home at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township.
