Brooklyn, N.Y. / Pope Center?The Robert Morris University women's basketball team tied its longest consecutive win streak at nine games with a victory at St. Francis (N.Y.), 59-55, Saturday evening at the Pope Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The last time a Colonial women's team won nine straight was 24 seasons ago when the 1983-84 team accomplished the feat. The 1981-82 version did the same.

Robert Morris, now 15-9 overall and 11-2 in the Northeast Conference, got 26 points from junior guard Sade Logan (Knoxville, Tenn. / Chattanooga State) who went 7-of-24 from the field, 5-of-14 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. Junior forward Chinata Nesbit (Washington, D.C. / Chipola JC) recorded her ninth double-double of the season, pouring in 16 points and 11 rebounds while picking up five steals, four assists and two blocks. Junior guard Angela Pace (Westchester, N.Y. / Monroe JC) added seven points and eight boards.

 A back-and-forth battle erupted between these teams in the first eight minutes of the first half with the Colonials taking two four-point leads only to watch St. Francis battle back to tie the score. Trailing, 11-10, with 13:32 left in the first half, the Colonials went on an 8-0 run with buckets by freshman Shakeena Cunningham (Buffalo, N.Y. / McKinley) and a pair of three-pointers by Logan. A Linda Warrington three-pointer and Karla Babica layup on consecutive possessions cut the margin from seven to four, 18-16, with 9:09 showing. Another Logan trifecta and a steal and finish by Pace put RMU back up, 28-20, with 1:20, but a Warrington three ended the first half scoring with the Colonials holding a 28-23 lead.

The Colonials opened the second-half with four straight points on a pair of Logan free throws and a Nesbit jumper that stretched the margin to 32-23. The Terriers quickly responded, however, with a Hill layup and mid-range jumper by Deanna Petrucci. Robert Morris then rolled out seven straight points with five coming from Pace to give RMU a 39-27 lead with 14:21 showing on the clock.

The teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes when a lay-up by Grace Williams (Baxley, Ga. / Frank Phillips) gave the Colonials a 58-49 with 3:39 showing. The Terriers tallied the next six points capped by a Tiffany Hill three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining. After a Colonial turnover, Warrington had a wide open look from the left corner but missed short and Nesbit corralled the rebound and was fouled. She hit one of her free throws to ice the game, 59-55.

Katja Bavendam had a team-high 19 points for St. Francis while adding a game-high 13 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Hill contributed 16 points and Warrington tacked on 10 points.

Neither shot well with the host Terriers holding a slight edge at 37.1 percent (23-62) to the Colonials 36.8 percent (21-57). Robert Morris struggled from the three-point arc, 5-15 (33.3 percent), and the free-throw line, 12-21 (57.1 percent), as well. St. Francis had a 44-39 advantage on the boards.

The Colonials return to action on Monday, February 18, when they travel to Central Connecticut State for 7:00 p.m. tip-off.