Moon Township, Pa. / Charles L. Sewall Center-The Robert Morris University women's basketball team erased any doubts about the outcome of Sunday's game against Mount St. Mary's by opening the second half with a 19-5 run en route to an 82-52 win in Northeast Conference play. The Colonials, now 7-6 and 2-0 in the conference, managed season-highs in points (82), shooting percentage (53.6) and steals (19).
Junior guard Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia / Ventspils (Barton County)) had a career-high 23 points, going 8-of-9 from the field, 3-3 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. The transfer also dished out a season-high seven assists and came up with two steals. She had 18 points in the first half.
Redshirt-senior guard Angela Pace (Westchester, N.Y. / Woodlands (Monroe College)) and freshman Vega Gimeno-Martinez (Valencia, Spain / Spanish National U-20) each had 10 points and five steals with Pace tacking on six assists. All 12 players on the RMU roster scored, including the first career field goal for freshman Libby Ladrach (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville).
Robert Morris overcame a slow offensive start by holding the Mount (4-8, 0-2 NEC) without a point for the game's first 7:33, by that time building a 10-2 lead with Silaraja accounting for nine of those points. As it turned out, that was as close at the Mountaineers would get in the game. A pair of free throws by Pace gave RMU their biggest lead of the half, 33-18, as they took a 33-21 lead into the break.
The Colonials came up with nine steals, forcing 13 turnovers, resulting in 18 points. The Mount went 7-of-25 in the half after missing their first 10 shots of the game. Silaraja finshed the half 6-of-7 with 18 points after knocking down her first six shots.
RMU eliminated any chances of a Mountaineers comeback by opening up the second half with a 19-5 run. Of the team's 42 second half points, 19 came on fast breaks and 16 via the turnover. They knocked down eight of their first 10 shots, doubling up the Mount, 52-26, with 11:57 left to play.
Robert Morris pushed the lead to as many as 33 points, shooting 63.3 percent (19-30), in the final stanza. Mount St. Mary's committed 14 more second half turnovers, giving the Colonials 34 total points off of turnovers.
Sydney Henderson was the lone Mount player in double-digits, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, going 4-of-11 from three-point range.
Sophomore forward Mary Durojaye (London, England / English National U-19) led all players with 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.
The Colonials hit the road for the first time in 23 days when they take on Long Island in a 5:00 p.m. game Thursday, January 7.
