Moon Township, Pa. / Charles L. Sewall Center -The Robert Morris University women's basketball held an 18-point second half lead but could not hold on in a 71-64 setback against Northeast Conference leader Sacred Heart at the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday afternoon. The Colonials suffer their second consecutive loss to slip to 3-2 in the league and 9-7 overall. The Pioneers remain perfect in NEC play at 5-0 and improve to 12-4 overall.

Sophomore Artemis Spanou (Rhodes, Greece / Nea Smyrni (Greek National Team)) earned her third consecutive double-double and her eighth of the year finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Junior April Williams (Bronx, N.Y. / Murry Bergtraum (Monroe College)) added 16 points as she buried 4-of-8 three-pointers.

Junior Briannica Tye (Aurora, Ill. / West Aurora (Mineral Area)) added 15 points and senior Mary Durojaye (London, England / Barking Abbey (British National Team)) narrowly missed out on a double-double, scoring nine points while corralling 11 boards.

Callan Taylor led all scorers with 31 points for Sacred Heart. She went 13-of-23 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds. Blair Koniszewki was the only other Pioneer in double-digits tallying 18 points.

While the Colonials held the lead through most of the opening half, they took control with a 7-2 run over the final two minutes of the opening salvo. Five consecutive points by Tye preceded a Williams three-pointer that gave RMU a 36-25. The teams traded layups on the final two possessions to send the game into the break with the home team holding a 38-27 advantage.

Freshman Catherine Matthews (Barrington, R.I. / Barrington) splashed a three to trigger a 7-0 run that left Robert Morris leading, 45-27, just under two minutes into the second half. Sacred Heart answered with its own 7-0 run that featured a pair of long jumpers by Taylor.

A layup by Durojaye with just under 11 minutes left gave RMU an eight-point lead. The Pioneers would then score the next nine points over a span of two minutes to take the lead, 55-54, on a Gabrielle Washington jumper. A runner by Spanou momentarily staved off the Pioneers charge and gave the Colonials their final lead of the game, 56-55, with just over seven minutes to play.

Three-pointers by Koniszewski and Taylor capped an 8-0 run that put Sacred Heart up for good, 65-58. Twice Robert Morris would make it a one-possession game in the final minute, but both times Sacred Heart answered with a pair of made free throws to escape with a 71-64 win.

RMU turned the ball over 27 times and Sacred Heart used that to its advantage scoring 30 points off of those miscues.

The Colonials look to snap their two-game slide against the Quinnipiac Bobcats who visit the Charles L. Sewall Center Monday, January 16, for a 7:00 p.m. game.