New Orleans, La. / Fogelman Arena?The Robert Morris University women's basketball team watched an 11-point halftime lead slip through their hands in a 76-67 loss to Virginia Tech in the championship game of the Tulane DoubleTree Classic at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans, La., Friday night. Senior forward Chinata Nesbit (Washington, D.C. / Chipola JC) and junior guard Sade Logan (Knoxville, Tenn. / Chattanooga State) were named to the all-tournament team for the Colonials who fall to 4-7 on the year.
“We gave a top Atlantic Coast Conference team everything they could handle, but unfortunately, due to free throws, we fell short,” said RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. “It's just another indication of how we can play on the national level. We did a lot of positive things and now we need to carry it over break and into the conference schedule.”
Logan finished with 22 points on 8-18 shooting to lead Robert Morris. Nesbit had 14 points while junior guard Kendra Williams (Bronx, N.Y. / Mount St. Ursula) added 11 points.
Brittany Cook was named the tournament most valuable player as she poured in 28 points on 11-19 shooting to lead Virginia Tech (10-2). She added 10 rebounds in addition to her career-high point total. Andrea Barbour chipped in with 17 points.
The Colonials jumped out to a 5-0 lead as K. Williams made a driving layup and Nesbit nailed a three-pointer, forcing the Hokies to burn a timeout just 1:50 into the game. The Colonials stretched the lead to 20-8 when Butler hit a layup with 11:29 left. RMU went up by as many as 14 when freshman guard Shakeena Cunningham (Niagara Falls, N.Y. / Niagara Falls) drilled a three-pointer pushing the margin to 28-14 with 8:26 left in the half. Virginia Tech responded with a 12-0 run that cut the lead to two-points before Robert Morris ended the half on a 10-0 run that gave them a 41-30 lead at the break.
RMU shot a blistering 65.4 percent in the first half, drilling 17-26 shots while the Hokies hit at 42.4 percent (14-33). Logan led the first half scorers with 15 points while Brittany Cook put 14 in the first 20 minutes.
Virginia Tech came out on a 15-2 run to open the second half and took a two-point, 45-43, lead when Utahya Drye hit a pair of free throws 3:35 in. The teams continued to trade baskets throughout the remainder of the second half. An Andrea Barbour jumper with 3:43 left gave the Hokies a 64-66 lead and marked the beginning of a 12-3 run to end the game.
The Hokies outscored the Colonials, 46-26, in the second half as they capitalized on free throws and second chances. Virginia Tech was 14-18 from the free throw in the second half while RMU managed to hit just seven of their 17 second half free throws.
RMU shot 52.0 percent (26-50) from the floor while Virginia Tech hit 29-of-71 shots (40.8%). The Hokies outrebounded the Colonials, 45-30, in the game including 32-15 in the second half.
The Colonials return to action Sunday, December 30, when they play host to Vermont in a 4:30 p.m. game at the Charles L. Sewall Center. It marks just the third home game of the season for Robert Morris.
