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Moon Township, Pa. / Charles L. Sewall Center – Senior forward Artemis Spanou lived up to her billing of Northeast Conference Player of the Year scoring 30 points and grabbing 20 rebounds to lead the Robert Morris University women's basketball team to a 78-64 win over Saint Francis University in the NEC Tournament Championship game Sunday afternoon at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
"Saint Francis gave us everything we could handle today. They brought a lot of fans with them. They support their program very well and (head coach) Joe (Haigh) has done a fantastic job there," said 11th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "Of course, I'm extremely proud of these young women. I've been coaching close to 40 years, and this has been the finest journey that I've been a part of as far as quality of player, quality of student and quality of person. Every time Saint Francis made a run, they didn't panic – they made plays. And special people make special plays."
 
Spanou finished 8-of-12 from the floor and 12-of-16 from the charity stripe en route to her 30 points. She added six assists, two steals and a block as well. She was named the tournament's most valuable player averaging 25.3 points, 15.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the three postseason games.
 
Freshman guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou also earned a spot on the all-tournament team. She averaged 13.0 points and shot 42 percent in three games. She finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists in the championship contest.
 
The Colonials were able to keep Red Flash stars Alli Williams and Alexa Hayward in check for the first half, limiting the offensive juggernauts to five combined points in the opening 20 minutes. That didn't stop the Red Flash from opening an early 9-2 lead on the Colonials.
 
After the nerves went away, and Spanou found her way to the low post, the Colonials outscored the visiting Flash 30-9 over the final 15 minutes of the opening half. A final 19-2 push over the last 8:35 sent RMU into the locker room holding a 38-24 lead. The Colonials drilled four-of-five three pointers, three from freshman Rebecca Navarro who ended the game with nine points, en route the halftime advantage.
 
Although the Red Flash never went away in the second half, they were never able to get to within two possessions in the second half. A couple of free throws and a lay-up by Williams cut the Colonials margin to seven points, but a nice out-of-bounds set saw Spanou feed senior Kelly Hartwell for a breakaway lay-up that put the margin back to nine with 1:31 to go.
 
Williams finished 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Flash. Hayward struggled for most of the game, but did manage to knock down a trio of treys en route to 13 points. She also had five assists. Both Williams and Hayward were named to the NEC All-Tournament team.
 
The Colonials shot 50.9 percent (27-53) for game as they easily found their way through a Saint Francis press that had led them to the title contest. RMU dominate the boards, 47-33, and in turn, the paint to the tune of 36-14.
 
Robert Morris earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament of the first time since 2008. The Colonials will learn their first round destination during the Selection Show on ESPN Monday, March 17. The show starts at 7:00 p.m.