NEC Player of the Week: Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu, RMU
Click here for PDF
NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
IREKPITAN OZZY-MOMODU, ROBERTY MORRIS
Jr., C, 6-2, London, England
Week 14 Stats: 2 appearances, 2 double-doubles, 18.0 ppg, 12.5 rpg, .700 FG pct.
Ozzy-Momodu came off the bench to lead Robert Morris in scoring while pacing the Northeast Conference in rebounding last week. Helping to keep RMU’s perfect NEC record intact, the highly-efficient forward notched double-doubles in back-to-back victories. Leading the Colonials on their march through Sacred Heart and Wagner, Ozzy-Momodu averaged 18.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per win. The British-born post player totaled 36 points in 38 minutes while shooting 70.0 percent from the floor. She made the most of her 16 minutes during a runaway victory over Sacred Heart, tallying 13 points, 10 rebounds and one block in the #NECWBB Game of the Week on ESPN3. Two days later, she set her career scoring high during a visit to Staten Island. Ozzy-Momodu, who made 9 of 11 field goal attempts, poured in 23 points to go along with 15 caroms and three steals in a 77-35 triumph that bumped Robert Morris’ NEC record to an all-time program-best 12-0.
NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
NEVENA DIMITRIJEVIC, ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
Fr., G, 5-3, Kragujevac, Serbia
Week 14 Stats: 2 starts, 16.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 spg, .565 2FG pct.
Dimitrijevic became the third different player to reach the 30-point plateau during a NEC game this season. Setting the conference’s single-game season scoring high for freshmen, the Serbian-born floor general poured in 31 points while playing 36 turnover-free minutes at Bryant. Dimitrijevic, who also dished out five assists, accounted for more than half of her team’s scoring output and registered a 12-of-17 clip from two-point range in the setback. The offensive explosion in Smithfield represented a bounce-back performance for freshman point guard, who was limited to only two points by Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday. Leading St. Francis Brooklyn through the two-game span, Dimitrijevic averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per start. She shot 56.5 percent on two-point field goal attempts.
PRIME PERFORMERS (WEEK 14)
The following players earned “NEC Prime Performer status” after accounting for some fine statistical lines...
IREKPITAN OZZY-MOMODU (ROBERT MORRIS)
2 appearances (at SHU; at WAG), 2 double-doubles, 18.0 ppg, 12.5 rpg, .700 FG pct.; 23 points [season high] at Wagner
SYDNEY HOLLOWAY (BRYANT)
2 appearances (vs. CCSU; vs. SFBK), 16.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg, .480 FG pct., .818 FT pct.; double-double in win over St. Francis Brooklyn
DENIA DAVIS-STEWART (MERRIMACK)
2 starts (at LIU; at FDU), 19.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg, .565 2FG pct.; double-double in win at LIU
MICHAELA HARRISON (MOUNT ST. MARY’S)
2 starts (at SFBK; at LIU), 16.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 rpg, .481 FG pct.
BROOKE BJELKO (BRYANT)
2 starts (vs. CCSU; vs. SFBK), 14.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 1.5 apg, .524 FG pct.
REBECCA LEE (MOUNT ST. MARY’S)
2 starts (at SFBK; at LIU), 16.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg, .765 FG pct., 0.87 point per minute; 23 points [game high] in win over LIU
TWEET SHEET
@CraigCD13
(Feb 10) RMU 12-0...only teams since 2000 to have better starts to a season (2004 SFU, 2009 SHU, & 2013 QU) all ran the table and went a perfect 18-0. RMU still has to play FDU, SFU, and MSM all twice over the last six games. So, we’ll see what happens! #NECWBB
@hoopfeed
(Feb 10) Robert Morris moves to program-best 12-0 in NEC with 42-point win at Wagner
@CCurti_Trib
(Feb 10) Looks like Ire Ozzy-Momodu is doing a great Nneka Ezeigbo imitation. ... Has to work on the hair color, though.
@CraigCD13
(Feb 10) Welcome to the 2020 NEC playoffs @Mount_WBB & @RedFlashWBB!
Mount & SFU each pick up their 9th win tonight. The 10th & 11th place teams now can’t get to 9 wins. So 3 spots are clinched, 5 more still to be claimed! #NECWBB
@CoachMarchesano
(Feb 10) Proud of the fight we showed throughout this long road trip! ?? Big shout out to @MargoDye @Kelseyfunderbur & @bmorgs_11 for coming out and supporting us tonight!! #Family
@Bryantwbball
(Feb 11) Former @bryanthoops coach, Max Good, came into our locker room after our win on Saturday to show some love to MLB ??
@PCAthletics
(Feb 11) Today we celebrate Britt King ‘86. King dominated the boards for @ProvidenceWBB in the 80’s. She is currently an Associate Head Coach for @Bryantwbball #FriarsInBlack | #BHM
@Bryantwbball
(Feb 8) We would like to officially congratulate @SydneyHollowayy for grabbing her 1,000th career rebound in today’s victory over CCSU! Holloway is now the third Bulldog in Bryant’s D1 history to post 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
@JudyMcDonnell
(Feb 8) Congratulations, Sydney. Great person. Great student. Great athlete.
ROBERT MORRIS OFF TO RECORD START
They’ve won the regular season seven times and captured eight NEC Tournament titles.
But never had they won their first 12 league games until now.
Robert Morris rolled past Wagner, posting its largest margin of victory this season, to improve its NEC win-loss record to 12-0.
The 2019-20 campaign marks the third straight season during which RMU has established a new program record for best Northeast Conference start. The Colonials won their first 11 conference contests last season before Mount St. Mary’s ended their bid for perfection on February 16, 2019. Robert Morris jumped out to a 9-0 start during the 2017-18 NEC schedule.
"We are very focused on our next opponent and just have a 'one moment at a time' culture," said RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia of the record. "I'm very proud of our passion to achieve these records by not thinking about them at all, and just valuing coming to work every day trying to get better. That's how all these achievements are possible.
Buscaglia, who has won three consecutive NEC Coach of the Year awards, presides over the league’s top-ranked defense. The Colonials permit a league-low 54.2 points per game while limiting the opposition to a .354 field goal percentage, a mark that is also tops on the circuit.
The Colonials have been especially stingy of late, allowing no more than 42 points in any of their past four outings. Opponents are averaging only 38.5 points per contest against RMU during the month of February.
SECOND-PLACE MOUNT’S FOUR-WIN ROAD SWING
Mount St. Mary’s hasn’t played at home since January, but it hasn’t lost since last month either.
With a 77-57 win over LIU on Monday, the Mountaineers completed a 4-0 road swing that tipped off with a 69-61 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson on February 1.
In addition to capping the program’s first four-game road win streak since 2014, the victory over LIU allowed the Mount to surpass its NEC win total from one year ago.
With seven league games left, Mount St. Mary’s owns a 9-2 mark in NEC contests. Dating back to mid-January, the team has won six of its last seven times out.
Last season, Maria Marchesano’s Mountaineers went 8-10 during the regular season conference slate. Earning the No. 6 seed, they went on to defeat St. Francis Brooklyn in a NEC Tournament quarterfinal bout before bowing out to eventual champion Robert Morris.
The Mount’s current lineup features four starters from the 2019 NEC semifinalist team. Sophomore Michaela Harrison, who earned a spot on the 2019 NEC All-Tournament Team, paces the Mountaineers in scoring average (12.8).
INVITATION RECEIVED
By securing their ninth conference victories, Saint Francis U and Mount St. Mary’s guaranteed themselves spots in the postseason NEC Tournament.
Robert Morris was the first to clinch a berth in the eight-team championship field. Seven teams are left fighting for five spots.
Under its first-year head coach Keila Whittington, SFU will contest the NEC Tournament for the fifth year in a row. The Flash, who finished as the runner-up in 2019, have captured a conference-record 12 titles.
Mount St. Mary’s, which is in search of the program’s first conference crown since 1995, has played its way into the postseason for the second straight year under Maria Marchesano.
The eight-team tournament, the winner of which will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Big Dance, will follow a high-seed, home-site hosting format. The four quarterfinal games are set for March 9 with the semifinal round to follow on March 12. The 2020 NEC Women’s Basketball Championship Game will reach a live national television audience for the 13th consecutive year on Sunday, March 15 at 2:00 pm ET.