Robert Morris has become addicted to close finishes, regardless of how the first 38 minutes of a game goes. Another unfortunate theme which has developed has been poor late-game execution to blow late leads. In the first game against Youngstown State on the road, a game with massive implications at the top of the Horizon League standings, RMU was up 51-44 with 3:37 to go.
Unfortunately for the Colonials, they failed to score for over three minutes until a Bailey Kuhns basket to take the lead with 0.4 seconds left. Yet with literally no time to spare, the Penguins make a miracle shot to beat the buzzer to force OT.
In the extra frame, it was all Youngstown, scoring eight of the first nine points to take a commanding lead to hold on for the 69-62 win. Sarah Baker proved to be too much for the Colonials with 21 points inside from the Penguins. Myriam Traore had 20 points for RMU, while Kuhns and Aislin Malcom each had 13.
Robert Morris had the chance to bounce back on Saturday at home against Cleveland State in a battle of top-half teams. But after being tied at the half, the Vikings dominated the third quarter, outsourcing the Colonials 21-10 to take a double-digit lead in the 4th quarter.
To RMU’s credit, they stayed within range throughout the final quarter and was down just three points with over 30 seconds to go. But continuing another theme of tough shots going down against them, Cleveland State made one last tough shot at the end to put the game out of reach.
The Colonials lost 57-52 to fall to 16-10 overall and 9-8 in league play. Traore had 17 points to lead the team, while Eva Levingston finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The big issue for Robert Morris was the struggles in the backcourt, with the guards combining to produce eight points on 2/20 shooting from the field. The frontcourt, even with Ava Leroux out again with an injury, has done its part in the last two weeks. But the lack of shooting and overall production on the perimeter has been a key issue as of late.
The results of last week’s sweep has RMU in sixth place in the Horizon League standings, meaning they wouldn’t host a first-round game in the tournament. If there’s any good news, it’s that the team is just 1.5 games back of third place in the standings and have the easiest schedule remaining in the regular season.
- At Detroit Mercy (3-13 HL)
- At Oakland (5-11 HL)
- Wright State (5-11 HL)
But if the guards don’t get it going on offense, Robert Morris is certainly capable of losing these games.
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