Loretto, Pa. / De Gol Arena-Senior guard Angela Pace (Westchester, N.Y. / Woodlands (Monroe College)) did everything she could to pull the Robert Morris University women's basketball team out of a 17-point second-half deficit in the 2010 Northeast Conference Tournament semifinals at De Gol Arena in Loretto, Pa. But in the end, it was a three-pointer from Saint Francis University's Brtiney Hodges with 10.7 seconds left that was the difference as the fourth-seeded Red Flash (16-14) took an 80-79 victory against the top-seeded Colonials (23-8).
Pace's career-best 30-point effort included 12-18 shooting, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. The senior tallied her 500th career rebound, becoming the 16th player in Colonials history to do that and the shortest player to hit the benchmark.
With the Red Flash riding red hot outside shooting, the Colonials found themselves trailing, 64-47, when Allison Daly's NEC Tournament record eighth three went down with 11:41 left in regulation. Following a media timeout, Pace completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 11:13 left.
That play sparked a furious RMU comeback. The Colonials made a rare defensive switch, coming out of their 2-3 zone to play man, catching the Red Flash off guard. On the other end of the floor, Pace was doing everything. En route to 23 second half points and career-high 30 points in the game, she finished off four three-point plays and continually created shots for herself and her teammates.
A driving lay-in by junior Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia / Barton County) was followed by four Pace points. Junior Bianca Hooten (Canton, N.Y. / Canton-McKinley (Bowling Green)) got to the rim for a lay-in, followed by a Pace jumper and a three-pointer from Vega Gimeno-Martinez (Valencia, Spain / Spanish National U-20) that cut the margin to four-points, 70-66, with 5:46 to play.
Trading baskets, the Red Flash held a 77-70 lead after a basket by Samantha Leach. A Hooten three-pointer sparked an 8-0 run that included another three-point play from Pace. Senior Monica Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Woodland Hills (Howard College)) hit a 15-foot jumper that gave the Colonials their first lead, 78-77, with 1:12 left to play.
The Red Flash came up empty on their next offensive trip before fouling RMU sophomore Mary Durojaye (London, England / English National U-20) on the other end. The English National Team captain knocked down one of two free throws, putting the lead at two points, 79-77, with 34 seconds to play.
Leach brought the ball down for Saint Francis and drove toward the left wing, swing the ball out the Hodges at the arc. Her shot was true, putting the Red Flash back on top by one with 10.7 seconds remaining.
Again, Pace asked for the ball. The senior came down court, beat her defender with a hesitation move to the right and drove toward the basket. Drawing contact, she tried to bank in a seven-footer. The ball rimmed off and Durojaye grabbed the board. Her putback was short, but Jones was crashing and came up the loose ball. With three seconds on the clock, her open look came off the left rim and the rebound went out of bounds as the clock seemingly expired. After a review, two-tenths of a second were put on the clock, but the Colonials could not get a last second shot off.
The back-to-back three-pointers by Daley and Hodges to open the game's scoring were a sign of things to come. While the Colonials struggled to find a consistent offensive flow, going without a field goal for six straight minutes, Daley was raining three-balls. The junior knocked down five in the first half.
The Red Flash used an 11-4 run during the Colonials dry spell, taking a 21-10 lead with 9:08 left in the half. Gimeno tried to light a spark on the offensive end, scoring the next nine RMU points. Her spurt led to a Silaraja three and back-to-back Pace buckets that cut the Red Flash lead to four points, 31-27, with 2:12 showing.
Saint Francis was not done in the half, however, as Hodges and Daley each knocked down treys, ending the half on a 10-2 run with junior Yohanna Morton's (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / Arizona Western) buzzer beater the only RMU hoop in the stretch run. The two-minute spurt gave the Red Flash a 41-29 lead at the break.
Gimeno had 17 points for Robert Morris, including three three-pointers and Jones added 10 points. Daly finished with 24 points, all on 17 three-point attempts, and Hodges added 19 points, including five three-balls.
Saint Francis shot 45.2 percent (28-62), including 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) from long range. The Colonials finished at 56.1 percent (32-57) after connecting at 60.6 percent (20-33) in the second half.
As the NEC's regular season champions, Robert Morris will accept an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
