Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball

Last updated
Robert Morris Colonials
Basketball current event.svg 2023–24 Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball team
RMU Colonials logo.svg
UniversityRobert Morris University
Head coach Chandler McCabe (1st season)
Conference Horizon League
Location Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Arena UPMC Events Center
(Capacity: 4,000)
NicknameColonials
ColorsBlue, white, and red [1]
     
Uniforms
Kit body thinsidesonwhite.png
Kit body basketball.svg
Kit shorts thinsidesonwhite.png
Kit shorts.svg
Home
Kit body thinwhitesides.png
Kit body basketball.svg
Kit shorts thinwhitesides.png
Kit shorts.svg
Away


NCAA tournament appearances
2007, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
Conference tournament champions
1988, 1991, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
Conference regular season champions
2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

The Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League. [2]

Contents

Program History

Robert Morris began its women's basketball program in 1970, and rattled off 11 straight winning seasons from 1978–79 to 1988–89. [3] Under RMU Athletic Hall of Fame head coach Dan Swalga, [4] the Colonials achieved their first 20-win season in 1981–82 at 20–8, won the Pennwood West tournament after a 23-5 campaign in 1983–84, and captured their first ECAC Metro (now Northeast Conference) Tournament championship in 1988. Swalga led RMU to a second NEC tournament title in 1991, but the program then fell into a 16-season championship drought.

After winning just seven games over a three-season span, the Colonials hired Sal Buscaglia from Manhattan to turn around the program. RMU went 3–24 in Buscaglia's first season, but rebounded with a 20–10 record in 2004-05 - marking the third-largest single-season turnaround in NCAA history. Another 20-win season followed, then the Colonials won their third NEC tournament championship and advanced to the program's first NCAA tournament in 2006–07. [5] RMU added a second NCAA tournament berth the next season, [6] and earned a Postseason WNIT berth in 2009-10 after going 17–1 in league play.

Following an injury-plagued 2012–13 season, RMU reached the peak again in 2013–14 with its fifth NEC tournament title and third NCAA tournament berth. Two years later, Buscaglia added another NEC tournament crown and NCAA tournament bid in his final season on the bench, before handing over the reins to his son, Charlie Buscaglia, prior to the 2016–17 season. [7]

Coach B, as he is respectfully called, has continued to raise the standard for the program. In his first season, the Colonials made it back-to-back NEC tournament championships and played in their fifth NCAA tournament, then followed that with a school-record 25 wins [8] and Postseason WNIT berth in 2017–18. In 2018–19, RMU went 16–2 in league play - including a 11–0 start [9] - winning their eighth NEC tournament and sixth NCAA tournament bid. This past season, the Colonials went 23-7 and started a program-best 14–0 in the NEC, [10] and became the first team since Saint Francis U from 2001 to 2005 to win at least a share of four consecutive NEC regular-season crowns. [11] RMU moved onto the NEC Tournament semifinals and were recipients of the conference's NCAA tournament berth after the cancellation of the NEC Tournament due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

In the classroom, the Colonials ranked in the top five of NCAA Division I women's basketball in cumulative grade point average, finishing second in 2016-17 [12] and fourth in 2017–18. [13]

Overall, RMU has captured eight NEC Tournaments, eight NEC regular-season titles, and played in nine national postseason tournaments (6 NCAA, 2 WNIT, 1 WBI). The Colonials have won 20 or more games in 13 seasons.

Postseason results

NCAA tournament results

The Colonials have appeared in the NCAA tournament six times. Their combined record is 0–6.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
2007 #13First Round#4 N.C. State L, 52-84
2008 #15First Round#2 Rutgers L, 42-85
2014 #16First Round#1 Notre Dame L, 42-93
2016 #16First Round#1 Connecticut L, 49-101
2017 #16First Round#1 Notre Dame L, 49-79
2019 #16First Round#1 Louisville L, 34-69

WNIT results

The Colonials have appeared in two Women's National Invitation Tournaments (WNIT). Their record is 0–2.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2010 First Round St. Bonaventure L, 50-76
2018 First Round Drexel L, 44-57

WBI results

The Colonials have appeared in one Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). Their record is 0–1.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2012 First Round Manhattan L, 54-77

Award History

NEC Player of the Year: 6 [14]
- Last: Anna Niki Stamolamprou, 2016-17
NEC Rookie of the Year: 2
- Last: Ashley Ravelli, 2012-13
NEC Defensive Player of the Year: 2
- Last: Nneka Ezeigbo, 2018-19
NEC Coach of the Year: 7
- Last: Charlie Buscaglia, 2019-20
NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: 3
- Last: Nneka Ezeigbo, 2019-20
NEC Tournament MVP: 8
- Last: Nneka Ezeigbo, 2019
All-NEC First Team: 22
- Last: Nneka Ezeigbo, 2019-20
All-NEC Second Team: 21
- Last: Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu, 2019-20
All-NEC Third Team: 2
- Last: Isabella Posset, 2019-20
All-NEC Rookie Team: 16
- Last: Isabella Posset, 2018-19
All-NEC Tournament Team: 24
- Last: Nina Augustin & Nneka Ezeigbo, 2019

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Bluder</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1961)

Lisa Marie Bluder is the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball program. Formerly, she served as coach of St. Ambrose University and the Drake Bulldogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Meier</span> American basketball player-coach (born 1967)

Katie Meier is head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. She is a 1990 graduate of Duke University, where she played college basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Aston</span> American basketball player and coach

Karen Sue Aston is an American basketball player and coach. She is currently the head coach of the UTSA Roadrunners women's basketball team. She has served as the head women's basketball coach at Texas, Charlotte, and North Texas. Aston has a career record of 285-146 (.661). In her 13 seasons as a head coach, Aston’s teams have averaged 22 wins per year and have made a combined 10 postseason appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials</span> College sports teams

The Robert Morris Colonials are the athletic teams for Robert Morris University, in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The Colonials compete in NCAA Division I. In 2020, the school joined the Horizon League as a full member after leaving the Northeast Conference. Several RMU sports that are not sponsored by the Horizon League play in other conferences. Football plays in the Big South Conference, and men's and women's lacrosse respectively compete in the ASUN Conference and Mid-American Conference. The school colors are RMU Blue, RMU Red, and RMU Gray/Silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

The Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Robert Morris University. The team played its home games at the Clearview Arena, located at the RMU Island Sports Center in Neville Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The Colonials were a member of the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Until the 2009–10 season, the Colonials were a member of College Hockey America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Basketball Invitational</span>

The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for the WBI are announced on Selection Monday. Prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic the field for the WBI consisted of a 16-team, single elimination divided into two regions with 8 seeded teams in each. The current format consists of 8 teams, all of which are guraranteed 3 games. Teams are picked based on NET, record, conference standings, end of year performance, and quality wins and losses, after the NCAA, WBIT, and WNIT fields are filled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball</span> Basketball team that represents Robert Morris University

The Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League. The Colonials current head coach is Andrew Toole who is in his fourteenth season at RMU. Toole was hired when, after three years in charge and 73 wins, head coach Mike Rice Jr. left the program in 2010 to take the head coaching job at Rutgers.

The Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Northeast Conference (NEC). It has been held every year since the NEC was established in the 1981–82 season. The tournament is an eight-team single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The bracket is reseeded after the quarterfinals, with the highest remaining seed playing the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals. The tournament winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troy Trojans women's basketball</span>

The Troy Trojans women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball of Troy University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jose Fernandez (basketball)</span>

Jose Luis Fernandez is the head coach of the University of South Florida women's basketball team, starting in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Williams (basketball)</span> American basketball coach

Amy Michelle Williams is the current head coach of the Nebraska women's basketball team. She was previously the head coach at the University of South Dakota, and led the Coyotes to the 2016 WNIT championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Aggies women's basketball</span> Womens college basketball team

The Utah State Aggies are a Division I women's college basketball team that plays in the Mountain West Conference, representing Utah State University. They play their home games at the Smith Spectrum.

The Stony Brook Seawolves women’s basketball team is the college basketball program representing Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves currently participate as part of the NCAA Division I basketball, and compete in the Coastal Athletic Association. The Seawolves currently play their home games in the Island Federal Credit Union Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Davis Aggies women's basketball</span>

The UC Davis Aggies Women's Basketball team represents the University of California, Davis in Davis, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Buscaglia</span> American basketball coach

Charlie Buscaglia is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball program. Before he succeeded his father, Sal, as head coach following the 2015-16 season, Buscaglia spent 13 years on the Colonials' coaching staff and previously assisted at his alma mater, Manhattan College.

The 2019 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament is the concluding event of the 2018–19 season of the Northeast Conference (NEC), held from March 11–17, 2019. Unlike most NCAA Division I basketball conference tournaments, the NEC tournament does not include all of the league's teams. The tournament instead features only the top eight teams from regular-season NEC play. Robert Morris won the conference tournament championship game over the St. Francis (PA), 65–54. Nneka Ezeigbo was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

The 2019 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2019 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 18, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament began on March 20, 2019, and concluded on April 6, 2019, with the championship game televised on the CBS Sports Network. In the championship game, Arizona defeated Northwestern 56–42 to win the tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season</span> Sports season

The 2021–22 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2022 and concluded in March 2022. Toledo won the MAC regular season championship with a conference record of 19–1.

The 2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I Women's college basketball teams that were not selected for the field of the 2022 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 13, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament started March 16 and ended on April 2 with the championship game televised by CBSSN. The tournament was won by the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

Nneka Ezeigbo is a Nigerian basketball player. She is one of the five players to be named on NEC Academic Honor Roll for four times, the only player in programs annals to be a part of four NEC regular-season championship teams.

References

  1. "RMU Brand Style Guide" (PDF). March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  2. "Robert Morris leaves NEC for Horizon League". espn.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. "2018 19 Rmu WBB Fact Book" (PDF).
  4. "Dan Swalga (2006) - RMU Athletic Hall of Fame".
  5. "RMU Women's Basketball Draws No. 4 Seeded NC State in NCAA Tournament".
  6. "RMU Draws Rutgers in NCAA Tournament Opening Round".
  7. "Buscaglia to Retire Following 2015-16 Season".
  8. "Colonials Break Win Record in Rout of LIU, Advance to NEC Title Game".
  9. "RMU Escapes the Ocean State Unbeaten, Defeating Bryant, 60-57".
  10. "Win Streak Hits 14 in 66-57 Triumph at Saint Francis U".
  11. "Third Quarter Run Lifts RMU to Fourth Straight NEC Regular-Season Crown".
  12. "Green Bay, Emporia State, Emerson, Purdue Northwest, des Moines sit atop 2016-17 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls".
  13. "WBCA announces 2017-18 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls".
  14. "Women's Basketball Award History".