Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball mounted two comebacks but couldn't get over the hump as they fell to cross-country rival Duquesne, 71-57, in a non-conference game at the Charles L. Sewall Center Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the Colonials record to 2-6 overall while the Dukes improve to 6-4 with their sixth victory in seven games.
 
Sophomore Judith Sole, making her first career start, recorded her second consecutive double-double. The Spanish-born forward recorded game-highs and career-highs in points (23) and rebounds (17). She was 7-of-12 from the floor, 3-of-4 on three-pointers and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers. She added one steal in 29 minutes of action.
 
Freshman Jocelynne Jones added 10 points, the only other Colonial player to reach double-digits. Leading scorer Anna Niki Stamolamprou scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds. Ashley Ravelli chipped in with eight points.
 
Three-pointers by Ravelli and Stamolamprou gave RMU a 6-0 lead to open the game. Duquesne answered with a 14-0 run over the next five minutes. The surge was the start of a 24-4 run that ended with April Robinson's second three-pointer and gave the visiting team a 24-10 lead with midway through the first half. Robinson had 10 points during the run.
 
Sole's first three-pointer of the game was followed by a Stamolamprou trey. The baskets started a 21-8 Robert Morris answer. Sole had 10 points during the surge that made it a one-point game, 32-31, when Stamolamprou made a lay-up with 2:40 showing in the first half. The margin stayed at one point into halftime with each team scoring three more points.
 
A high-pressure full court press by the Dukes led to three turnovers for the Colonials to start the second half. Duquesne turned those errors into eight points and pushed the lead to nine points just 1:13 after halftime.
 
It was Sole again who dragged the Colonials out of the deficit. She hit a 15-foot jumper and a three-pointer while Lou Mataly hit her only trey of the game to power an 8-0 Colonials run that made it a 53-51 game at the second half's midpoint.
 
Robert Morris, however, would not hit a field goal in the game's last nine minutes. The team's only three-points over that span came from the charity stripe. The Dukes, meanwhile, were 7-of-13 in the game's deciding moments and used eight points from Jose-Ann Johnson to finish the contest on a 14-3 run en route to a 71-57 victory.
 
Deva'Nyar Workman recorded her second career double-double for the Dukes, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. She also had five assists and five steals. April Robinson finished with 18 points and Johnson tacked on 17.
 
The Dukes shot 46.2 percent (30-65) and held the rebounding advantage, 44-35. Robert Morris hit at 33.9 percent (20-59) overall.
 
The Colonials return to the hardwood Wednesday, Dec. 17, when they host the Youngstown State Penguins in a 7:00 p.m. game at the Sewall Center.