The Robert Morris women’s basketball welcomed the University of Illinois-Chicago to the UPMC Events Center Thursday night, but were defeated 71-58 by the Flames to open up the regular season.
“They are a very well-coached team. They were disciplined. They played way harder than us. They were way tougher than us,” head coach Chandler McCabe said in the opening statement of her postgame press conference.
Despite the result in front of their fans, coach McCabe and the Colonials were excited to begin the season in Moon Township.
“Being on our home court is always incredible. [We] loved playing at home and hopefully we can pack UPMC moving forward.”
Coach McCabe went into great detail about the team’s struggles under the glass, as the Colonials were out-rebounded 31 to 25 by UIC.
Additionally, Robert Morris turned the ball over seven more times than UIC, gifting the Flames a 33 to 11 advantage in the points off turnovers category.
“You just got to want the ball more than the other team,” McCabe said.
The Colonials were led offensively by Myriam Traore, a member of the 2026 Horizon All-League Third Team, who tallied 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block.
Page Greenburg, Meghan Murray and Teigh Yeast also contributed in their RMU debuts. Greenburg notched 12 points, while Murray and Yeast posted seven points apiece.
Mackenzie Blackford, who ranked 7th all time at Duquesne last year for triples in a season (75), gave the Colonial fans a taste of what she can do from beyond the arc, when she nailed a three pointer as time expired in the first half.
“We love our depth,” said McCabe, talking about her roster. “We’ve got a lot more to give and we’re definitely going to show it.”
Teigh’s sister, Timberlynn, who is a redshirt junior transfer from Marshall, recorded five points and five rebounds, as well as two assists, a steal and a block in the effort.
“They’re incredible players. They’re incredible people,” McCabe said when asked about having both Timberlynn and Teigh on her squad this season.
Where Robert Morris was able to generate consistent points was from the free throw line. The Colonials, while making it to the charity stripe slightly less than UIC, were more efficient in their opportunities, posting a 94.4 free-throw percentage (17 of 18 made attempts).
“We were trying to match their aggression,” McCabe noted, saying that UIC played with an aggressive style.
The Colonials are coming off a season where they were the best free throw shooting team in the Horizon League.
“We practice free throws every single day,” McCabe added.
Up Next
Robert Morris will look to bounce back Sunday afternoon, when the Colonials welcome Delaware State to the UPMC Events Center. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. eastern.
Subscribe to our emails, and get our latest posts in your inbox, plus a weekly digest of everything we've published!
