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New Britain, Conn. / Detrick Gymnasium — Senior forward Artemis Spanou (Rhodes, Greece / Nea Smyrni) buried a three-pointer with 6.9 seconds left to give the Robert Morris University women's basketball team a 61-59 victory over Central Connecticut State in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.
 
Battling its way back from a 21-point deficit, the Colonials (5-7, 1-0 NEC) watched the Blue Devils (6-5, 0-1 NEC) retake the lead, 59-58, when little-used Nicole Ferguson buried a three-pointer from the corner with 28.2 seconds left in regulation.
 
After a timeout, the Colonials progressed through their offensive set before Spanou was left open on the left wing. The senior nailed her second three of the game with 6.9 seconds left, polishing off a 61-59 come-from-behind victory.
 
"I can't be prouder of this young team – the way they stayed together, being down 21 points early in the second half," said 11^th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "There were some great plays by so many of the kids capped off by Artie's three-pointer with six seconds to go. Hopefully this young team will learn two lessons from this game. One – you have to come out and play right from the beginning of the game. And two, you must always stay together even though it might seem like you are facing an insurmountable task."
 
Spanou finished the game with 25 points and 16 rebounds. She scored 22 of those points in the second half going 8-of-11 from the floor after missing all six of her first half shots. Spanou now has 68 career double-doubles. She was 7-of-13 from the charity stripe.
 
The Colonials instituted a swarming zone defense in the second half, forcing CCSU into nine second-half turnovers and holding them to 9-of-24 from the field. Offensively, the Colonials pounded the glass, getting 12 offensive rebounds and 13 second-chance points in the second stanza.
 
Jessica Babe buried a three-pointer to start the second half and put RMU in its biggest hole of the game, 38-17. Sophomore Ashley Ravelli (Milano, Italy / The Hun School) answered with a trey to spark a 7-0 run. Spanou would then score on two consecutive possessions and scored 11 points during a nine-minute, 15-4 run by the Colonials that brought the score to 46-42 with 6:24 to play.
 
Freshman Janee Brown (Mitchelville, Md. / Holy Cross) gave the Colonials the lead, 53-52, with 2:03 to left. The teams then exchanged the lead three more times before Spanou eventually iced the contest in the final seconds.
 
Central Connecticut State used a 12-0 run to surge out on front early in the first half to take a 19-4 lead. RMU went over six minutes without a point and nearly eight minutes without a field before freshman Cassie Oursler (Grand Island, N.Y. / Grand Island) finished on a nice pass from Ravelli.  
 
As the Colonials defense improved, allowing just three field goals over the final eight minutes of the first half, their shooting troubles continued. Robert Morris finished just 4-of-29 from the field in the opening foray and was 9-of-18 from the free throw line.
 
Robert Morris returns to the hardwood Monday, January 6, when it travels to southern Connecticut for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers.

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