Hamden, Conn. / TD Bank Sports Center-Led by 21 second half points by senior Yohanna Morton (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / Dominican National Team), the Robert Morris University women's basketball team held on for a hard-fought, 75-67, win at Quinnipiac University Saturday afternoon. Morton finished the game with a career-best 26 points, seven rebounds, and six assists as the Colonials improved to 11-8 and a Northeast Conference-leading 8-1 conference mark.
"This was a great win for us on the road against a team that has only lost one conference game this season," said RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "We were in major foul trouble with Artemis (Spanou) playing limited minutes, you really have to give credit to the other payers who stepped it up led by seniors Yohanna (Morton), Kristine (Silaraja) and Destiny (Harrison).
The win was the first for Robert Morris at the four-year old TD Bank Sports Center and the team's first win at Quinnipiac since 2005. The Bobcats slip to 10-10 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
Morton finished the game 8-of-21 from the field and 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. Seniors Destiny Harrison (Niagara Falls, N.Y. / Niagara Falls) and Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia / Barton County CC) each went 4-of-8 from three-point range, finishing with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Silaraja added eight rebounds and five assists.
Good zone defense early on by Robert Morris frustrated the Quinnipiac offense. The Bobcats started the game 2-of-17, going nearly five minutes between baskets. On the other end of the floor, Harrison was knocking down everything scoring eight unanswered points to give RMU a 12-5 lead six minutes into the game.
While continuing to play stifling defense, the Colonials built the lead to as much as 14 in the first half. However, foul trouble to RMU's frontline was critical as the team went into a prolonged scoring drought. Taking advantage of free throws and a timely three-pointer by Shelby Sferra, the Bobcats used a 9-0 run to cut the margin to three points with 2:11 left in the half.
Morton ended the near five-minute dry spell for the Colonials by getting a layup off an inbound play. Courtney Kaminski hit a long jumper with 30 seconds left in the half that capped the halftime scoring with Robert Morris holding a 30-25 lead.
Quinnipiac opened the second half with a 9-4 spurt that brought the Bobcats to within one point, 35-34, when Kaminski scored off of an offensive rebound. A three-pointer by Silaraja jump-started a Robert Morris streak to push the lead back to 10 points, 46-36, as Morton got to the rack.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Felicia Barron and Kari Goodchild fueled a 12-0 Bobcat run that ended when Kaminski hit a jumper with just under 10 minutes left to give the host squad a 52-51 lead.
A layup by Goodchild put Quinnipiac up by three, but Morton finished off an old-fashioned three-point play to knot the score. That started a string of 10 consecutive points by Morton that staved off the Bobcats. A trey by Silaraja put the Colonials up by eight points, 64-56, with 6:27 left to play and Quinnipiac would never threaten again.
Goodchild finished with 16 points and Kaminski chipped in with 14 points.
Robert Morris travels 30 miles north through Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart Monday, Jan. 31, in a 7:00 p.m. game at the Pitt Center.
