MOON TOWNSHIP– After a 14-15 season in which Robert Morris hosted a playoff game, the Colonials welcomed an old NEC foe to the UPMC Events Center as St. Francis came to town for the 91st matchup in the series.

It was a sloppy game through on both sides as both teams turned the ball over a total of 64 times, but a strong offensive performance by the Robert Morris (1-0) sophomore class helped them defeat Saint Francis (0-1) by a final score of 49-36.

The Colonials came out of an off-season in which there were a lot of questions concerning the team as they lost their leading scorer Ester Castedo and leading rebounder, Ashya Klopfenstein.

Head Coach Charlie Buscaglia discussed the energized youth movement of the team after the game,

“We lost a lot of veterans, Esther Casetdo and we had a five-year point guard… but the main difference I see from last year is the youth and energy the team has… I think it’s going to help us a lot this year and moving forward.”

The Colonials got off to a fast start as they were able to slow down the Red Flash offense, as they didn’t make a shot to open up the game.

In the early going, the question of scoring was answered by Phoenix Gedeon as she began the day 3-5 for six points.

The team’s defense was a more minor question heading into the matchup, but the Colonials answered that one as well. They held the Red Flash to only 12 percent shooting in the first quarter.

Buscaglia addressed the team’s strong opening performance after the game.

“We came out ready I thought we did a good job on defense. I thought we worked really hard on forcing turnovers and I thought that even when they did get past us, we did a good job recovering”

As the game went on, the Red Flash were in the giving mood as they gave the ball away 23 times. This led to some easy points in transition for the Colonials, who led rebounding-wise 16-13. The team was able to get easy passes off all the Red Flash mistakes.

The team was able to keep up the heat in the second half, as they forced turnovers. Alejandra Mastral had three steals, as she read the passes very well and was able to keep the Red Flash guessing all game.

Dwomoh and Gedeon were able to help lead the team as they both were able to add 14 points in the win.

The Red Flash didn’t go down without a fight in the fourth as they went on a six-to-two-run to open the final period.

The Colonials will be back in action on Thursday when they are set to host the George Mason Patriots at seven. Being the first time these teams ever played each other.