After two seasons as an NCAA Division I college basketball player, Honoka Ikematsu has learned that mental strength and physical skills are equally important.
The Robert Morris University guard is an integral part of the team, and recognizing how to use both sets of skills are, indeed, vital. She started all 32 games as a freshman in the 2017-18 season and was named to the All-Northeast Conference Rookie Team. Among her biggest highlights that season: A career-high 25 points, including 7 of 10 on 3-pointers, against Sacred Heart on New Year's Eve.
This season, RMU finished with a 22-11 record. The Colonials advanced to the NCAA Women's Tournament as a No. 16 seed. They traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, for their third national tourney appearance in four years. The top-seeded University of Louisville Cardinals blasted RMU 69-34 in a first-round game in mid-March.