Box Score Moon Township, Pa. / Charles L. Sewall Center  – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team watched an eight-point halftime lead disappear in a 62-53 loss to Winthrop University in the final game of the 2013 RMU Thanksgiving Classic at the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday afternoon. The Colonials slip to 3-3 on the year while the Eagles see their record improve to 5-2.
 
RMU senior Artemis Spanou (Rhodes, Greece / Nea Smyrni) earned her 30^th consecutive double-double by pulling down five rebounds in the final two minutes. She finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds on a 6-of-15 shooting night and was named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore Lou Mataly (Toulouse, France / Lycee-Bellevue) had nine points, all in the first half, going 3-of-9 on three-pointers.
 
"I thought we played really hard with a strong desire to win," said 11^th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "It was a game of streaks. We had some opportunities and some looks and we just weren't able to knock them down. Give a lot of credit to Winthrop. They're a good ball club.
 
"We let these two games get away from us. I know we were short without our starting two-guard, but we've got to rise above that. We feel that we still have a great future, but we had two tough games against two quality opponents."
 
Dequesha McClanahan had a game-high 27 points and filled the stat sheet in earning all-tournament team honors for Winthrop. She had seven assists, six steals, six rebounds and went 12-of-12 from the chalk. Schaquilla Nunn had 13 points and 10 boards to earn a double-double. Erica Williams tacked on 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
Winthrop seized the early momentum, surging to a 19-7 led as McClanahan scored nine early points. A second foul on Nunn forced the Eagles center to the bench and RMU took advantage by going on a 25-5 run over the final 11:15 of the first half.
 
A Mataly three-pointer, one of three for her during the run, tied the game at 22 with 2:52 to play. A jumper by Spanou was followed by a Randi Jackson (Oakland, Calif. / Bishop O'Dowd) trey. Two freebies by Winthrop's Tiffany Charles ended an 18-0 run by RMU, but Mataly would bury another three to give the Colonials a 32-24 lead at the break.
 
Winthrop answered quickly following intermission, tying the game at 36-36 on a Williams layup that capped a 12-4 run. Jumpers by freshman Cassie Oursler (Grand Island, N.Y. / Grand Island) and Spanou put RMU back up, 40-36.
 
The Eagles then rattled off 12 unanswered points to take the lead, 48-40, with 8:51 to go. The Colonials fought back to get within three points when sophomore Ashley Ravelli (Milano, Italy / The Hun School) knocked down a three-ball, but Winthrop hit enough of its free throws over the final three-minutes to take a 62-53 win.
 
The Eagles went to the chalk 29 times, converting 21 free chances while the host Colonials were just 3-of-10 from the line.
 
In the first game of the day, Northern Kentucky defeated UT Martin, 70-61, to finish the event with two victories. Melody Doss (NKU) was named the tournament MVP averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 reobunds in two games. She was joined by teammate Kayla Thacker while UTM's Jasmine Newsom averaged 26.0 points to earn a spot.
 
Robert Morris hits the road for the first time this season Saturday, Dec. 7, when they travel to Niagara for a 2:00 p.m. game at the Gallagher Center.
 
All-Tournament Team
Melody Doss, NKU (MVP)
Kayla Thacker, NKU
Jasmine Newsome, UTM
Dequesha McClanahan, WU
Artemis Spanou, RMU