Moon Township, Pa. / Charles L. Sewall Center-Trailing by two points with 1.7 seconds left in regulation, Columbia Lions forward Lauren Dwyer heaved a three-pointer from the left wing that hit high up on the glass and banked through the cylinder, sinking the Robert Morris University women's basketball team, 64-63, as the clock expired. The loss closes out the Colonials (6-6, 1-0 NEC) non-conference schedule.
Robert Morris has played three consecutive one-point games, losing to Morehead State, 57-58 (Dec. 20), beating Santa Clara, 57-56 (Dec. 28) and now losing to Columbia.
Redshirt-senior guard Angela Pace (Westchester, N.Y. / Woodlands (Monroe College)) tied her career high with 22 points, burying 10-of-16 field goals and going 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. She also led the team with seven rebounds. Junior guard Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia / Ventspils (Barton County)) finished with 12 points, going 4-of-6 from three-point range.
After losing an eight-point halftime lead, the Colonials found themselves trailing by six points when Melissa Shafer knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the game with 6:27 left to play. It was the Lions (7-4) last basket over the next four minutes.
Silaraja cut the margin in half on the next possession, burying a three from the corner and Pace hit a long-jumper to make it a one-point contest, 58-59, with just four minutes to play. The senior guard then knocked down a floater in the lane, giving the Colonials a one-point lead, 60-59.
Judie Lomax, who finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, regained the lead for Columbia when she got a putback on her own miss. A pair of charity shots from Pace turned the lead in RMU's favor once again with 2:04 showing. Neither team could hit for the next two minutes until junior Bianca Hooten (Canton, Ohio / Canton-McKinley (Bowling Green)) hit one of two free throws with 22 seconds left.
Columbia's first chance to win the game came on a three-pointer from the right wing by Danielle Brown that went long and off a Colonial defender out of bounds with 1.7 seconds showing. That's when Brown in-bounded the ball to Dwyer who turned and flung a three that found its way in.
The Colonials built a first-half lead to as many as 10 points, 18-8, 4:55 into the game, but the Lions responded with a 12-2 run to tie the game with just over half of the first stanza to play. Robert Morris closed the half on an 8-0 run and took a 36-28 lead into the break.
After shooting 55.2 percent in the first half, RMU cooled off to 34.5 percent in the last 20 minutes to finish at 44.8 percent (26-58) for the game. They converted on just 5-of-11 free-throws. While turning the ball over 20 times, Columbia outrebounded Robert Morris, 43-25, including 15 offensive boards. They finished shooting 44.6 percent (25-56), including 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from three-point range.
The Colonials turn their attention to Northeast Conference foes for the remainder of the season, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. date with Mount St. Mary's Sunday, January 3, at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
