Freshman guard Honoka Ikematsu is having a solid season for the Robert Morris University women's basketball team.
Ikematsu, who hails from Kumamoto, is averaging 9.5 points and a team-best 2.8 assists in 13 games. She's started every game to date for the Colonials, an NCAA Division I Northeast Conference team.
The 167-cm Ikematsu had 23 points on Dec. 29 in a victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, followed by a season-best 25 points on New Year's Eve in a win over Sacred Heart.
The Colonials (9-4 overall) also have another Japanese connection. Assistant coach Asami Morita is in her fourth season on the coaching staff for the Pittsburgh-area school.
RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia has been impressed with Ikematsu's productivity this season.
"She's been given a tough role, but she's handling it with a lot of grace," Buscaglia told The Tribune-Review, a Pennsylvania newspaper. "She hasn't got it completely, but she's working toward it. The bulk of minutes she's playing and the responsibility she's had, she's really handling things well for someone coming all the way from Japan."