Iowa City, Iowa – Sophomore guard
Anna Niki Stamolamprou scored a career-high 21 points as the
Robert Morris University women's basketball team gave 19th-ranked Iowa all they could handle in front of 4,000 Hawkeye fans Sunday afternoon. The Colonials were within eight points of their Big 10 opponent in the second half before finally succumbing in a 85-67 loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
"We knew coming in playing the 19th ranked team in the nation on their floor would be an ultimate challenge for our young team," said 12th year RMU head coach
Sal Buscaglia. "I'm very proud that, for most of the game, we were right there. We challenged them for 40 minutes. We certainly still have some things to improve on, but if we take positive steps each and every day in practice and each and every game, we can be a very special team."
Stamolamprou went 8-of-14 from the field, drilling four three-pointers, to lead four RMU scorers in double figures. The Greece native also tied for the team lead with seven points. Junior
Ashley Ravelli tacked on 11 points and three assists.
Freshman
Megan Smith was impressive in her collegiate debut, scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds. She showed inside and outside skill, knocking down one of two three-point attempts. Sophomore
Rebeca Navarro had a pair of three-pointers, finishing with 10 points.
Iowa jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Stamolamprou hit a three and redshirt-senior
Jolie Olingende scored on an up-and-under move to tie the game. The Hawkeyes pushed ahead, 13-11, but Ravelli gave RMU the lead, 14-13 by knocking down a three-pointer at the 14:15 mark.
In a slow offensive moment, freshman
Megan Smith's first field goal came at an opportune time. Her nifty scoop beat the shot clock and made it a three-point game. Stamolamprou later hit back-to-back driving lay-ins to cut the Iowa lead to 34-31 with two minutes to play in the opening half. Iowa, however, got a pair of three pointers from Melisa Dixon and a pair from the free throw line to take a 42-31 lead into halftime.
Ravelli and Stamolamprou hit three pointers out of the break before Smith showed off the talent that made her a prize recruit. The freshman hit a turnaround jumper on the post, then nailed a three from the right wing that cut the lead to seven points before taking a charge on the defensive end of the floor in a three-position sequence of brilliance.
A breakaway lay-up and three-point play by Iowa's Melissa Dixon was Iowa's first basket in nearly four minutes put the host squad up, 58-48, midway through the second half. Ravelli hit a pair of freebies on the following possession making it an eight point game. The next seven points, however, belonged to the Hawkeyes as they took a 65-50 lead on a lay-in by Bethany Doolittle.
The Colonials would cut the lead to 11 points several times, but couldn't get any closer than that down the stretch. Iowa pushed the margin to as many as 21 points in the waning moments.
Dixon finished with 21 points as she knocked down 6-of-11 from long range. She tied for game-high honors with Stamolamprou. Kali Peschel tacked on 19 points while Samantha Logic led all players with 14 rebounds.
The Colonials face another Big 10 opponent in the form of the Illinois Fighting Illini when they return to the hardwood Tuesday, Nov. 18. The game is slated for an 8:00 p.m. Eastern time tip-off.
