Fairfield, Conn. / William H. Pitt Center - The Robert Morris University women's basketball lost a first half lead en route to a 59-52 setback against the Sacred Heart Pioneers at the William H. Pitt Center Saturday afternoon. RMU, who had won three of four games coming into the contest, slips to 7-17 overall and 6-7 in the Northeast Conference. Sacred Heart moves to 17-7 and 9-3 in the league.

Junior forward Artemis Spanou (Rhodes, Greece / Nea Smyrni) led all scorers with 20 points and added 13 rebounds to earn her 19th consecutive double-double and 21st of the season. Spanou went 6-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Anna Gailite (Riga, Latvia / Riga Secondary #47) tacked on 10 points and eight rebounds as well as dishing out three assists.

RMU held a 41-25 advantage on the boards and a 14-2 edge in second-chance points, but committed 29 turnovers that Sacred Heart was able to convert into 25 points.

A lay-in by Spanou off a feed from Britta Emberg (Cowansville, Pa. / Kittaning) tied the game at 6-6 six minutes into regulation. The Pioneers responded with a 10-2 surge highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by Blair Koniszewski and Katie Shepard to take a 16-8 lead with 9:18 to play.

Trailing by eight points, RMU went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 19-18. A three-pointer by Ashley Ravelli (Milan, Italy / The Hun School) pulled the Colonials to within one point before a putback by Gailite gave RMU the lead. The run continued through the end of the first half when RMU went into the break with a 25-23 lead following the 15-5 surge.

A three-pointer by freshman guard Randi Jackson (Oakland, Calif. / Bishop O'Dowd) opened the second half scoring and gave the Colonials a five-point lead. The next six points came from the Pioneers who took a one-point lead.

After trading baskets, RMU returned to a three-point edge on back-to-back baskets by Spanou. Sacred Heart regained the edge, 40-39, on a pair of Alissa Tarsi charity shots. The Pioneers would go 16-of-18 on free throws in the game, building the lead to 45-41 on the power of the freebies.

A Ravelli three pulled the Colonials to within three points with just over four minutes to play, but RMU would get no closer as Sacred Heart continued to knock down shots to earn the seven-point victory.

Gabrielle Washington, last year's NEC Rookie of the Year, had 19 points going 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to lead the Pioneers. Morgan Merriman chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.

Robert Morris returns to the hardwood Monday, Feb. 18, when they travel to NEC frontrunner Quinnipiac for a 2:00 p.m. game.