Staten Island, N.Y. / Spiro Sports Center-The Robert Morris University women's basketball team ran its win streak to 11 games with a 70-67 victory over the Wagner Seahawks Thursday evening at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, N.Y. The win was the eighth straight road win for the Colonials, tying the team record set by the 2007-08 squad. RMU sits at 21-7 overall and 16-1 in the Northeast Conference heading into their regular season finale Saturday afternoon at Mount St. Mary's.
Senior guard Angela Pace (Westchester, N.Y. / Woodlands (Monroe College)) finished with a game-best 23 points and 10 rebounds, picking up her seventh double-double of the season. The senior had six assists and four steals as well.
Sophomore Mary Durojaye (London, England / English National U-20) had a career-best 19 points, finishing the game 9-of-13 from the field. Junior guard Bianca Hooten (Canton, Ohio / Canton-McKinley (Bowling Green)) added 10 points and three assists.
With the Colonials holding a 52-42 lead midway through the second half, Wagner's Kelly Clark came off the bench and came to life. Clark tallied the game's next seven points, cutting the RMU lead to three when Stephanie McBride buried a three-pointer to tie the game for the first time, 52-52, with 7:18 left to play.
The team's would trade baskets over the next three minutes before another McBride trey locked the game at 59-59. Four straight points by Pace pushed were answered by a Mega Mahoney layup. That basket with 2:13 left would be the last for Wagner over the next two minutes.
During that time, the Colonials went on a 7-0 march to push the margin to 68-61 with 40 seconds left to play. A Mahoney trey cut the margin to four just before Pace knocked down one free throw. After coming up with a steal and getting fouled, junior guard Destiny Harrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y. / Niagara Falls) missed a pair of free throws and Wagner took advantage in the form of a three-pointer by Ashley Olson. Pace got one-of-two free throws with 3.9 seconds left. Wagner quickly got the ball upcourt, but a Mahoney three-ball from the left wing back hard off the rim as the clock expired, preserving the 70-67 Robert Morris win.
Durojaye tallied the first six points of the game for Robert Morris as the Colonials strode out to 12-2 lead just 2:28 into the game. Holding an eight point lead at the second media timeout of the half, RMU went on a 9-0 run fueled by layups from Pace and Hooten to push the margin to 27-10.
A hoop and harm three-point play by Kelly Clark spurred the Seahawks, who finished the half by outscoring the Colonials 17-12 down the stretch. Marie-Laurence Archambeault hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch, finishing the first half with 10 points.
The Colonials finished the first half holding a 39-27 lead, tallying 32 of those points in the paint. The short shots helped the team convert at 63.0 percent (17-27) in the first half. The Seahawks struggled to the tune of 31.3 percent (10-32)
Robert Morris finished the contest shooting 51.0 percent (26-51) and were 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) from the charity stripe. Wagner converted at 35.7 percent (25-70) including 33.3 percent (11-33) from beyond the arc.
Archambault finished with 13 points, matching Clark's total point output.
The Colonials play their regular-season finale on Saturday, February 27, when they travel to Mount St. Mary's for a 1:00 p.m. contest at Knott Arena.
