During the women’s basketball regular season, Northern Kentucky gave Robert Morris fits. On Thursday in the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals, the Colonials returned the favor.
Noa Givon scored a season-high 23 points, and No. 4 seed Robert Morris defeated No. 5 Northern Kentucky, 70-57, at UPMC Events Center to advance to the semifinals Monday at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.
“We’ve got some unfinished business to take care of because we’re not satisfied,” first-year Robert Morris coach Chandler McCabe said.
The Colonials will face a stern test in the semifinals against top-seeded Green Bay at noon Monday. Green Bay defeated No. 10 Oakland, 84-55, on Thursday. In the other quarterfinals, No. 2 Purdue Fort Wayne beat No. 8 Wright State, 64-50; and No. 3 Cleveland State routed No. 6 Detroit Mercy, 92-61.
“It doesn’t matter who we’ll be playing. We’re still going to play RMU basketball,” McCabe said.
Robert Morris, which led 35-29 at halftime, pulled away in the second half to end with a convincing outcome.
In the first regular-season meeting between teams, Northern Kentucky posted an almost identical score in beating Robert Morris, 72-58, on Jan. 8. The Colonials came back on Feb. 16 to score a close 63-59 victory.
In the latest game, Givons, a 5-foot-10 junior from Ra’anana, Israel, and a transfer from Iona, converted 10 of 18 field goals for Robert Morris (15-15), which shot 45.3%.
Mya Murray, a Uniontown product and a transfer from Brown, added 11 points for the Colonials, projected to finish last in the 11-team Horizon League.
But they’re arguably the conference’s biggest surprise under McCabe, a former associate head coach at George Mason, who took over a Robert Morris program coming off a 6-24 (2-18 Horizon) season.
The Colonials this season have fought back to a .500 record after starting the year 1-7.
McCabe said the fortunes began to turn for Robert Morris when the players decided to “buy in.”
Halle Idowu led Northern Kentucky (11-21) with 15 points. Macey Blevins added 12, and Abby Wolterman finished with 10 for the Norse.