Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team went on a 18-5 run late, but couldn't completely overcome a 16-point second half deficit as they fell at Saint Francis University, 71-68, in a Northeast Conference game at DeGol Arena Monday evening. The Red Flash victory marks the seventh consecutive game in this series in which the home team has won.
 
"Playing 40 minutes is something we have been stressing to the players and today was a prime example that we didn't play 40 minutes," said 12th-year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "We made a great comeback that, unfortunately, fell short. That's become too much of a habit for us this season.
 
"We obviously have to be more aggressive getting to the basket and drawing fouls. Again, we dominated the opposition from the field but got beat at the free throw line. Being a four-time (regular season) champion of this conference, coming off a championship last year, we have a target on our back. Everyone is going to play their best game against us. From a basketball standpoint, we gave up too many three-pointers the first half and didn't guard well."
 
Robert Morris (3-10, 1-1 NEC) was led by freshman forward Megan Smith who recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She also had a team high three assists. Junior Ashley Ravelli tacked on 14 points and sophomore Judith Sole added 12 more to go with six boards.
 
Aisha Brock of Saint Francis (2-11, 1-1 NEC) led all scorers with 24 points, including 19 in the first half. Shaqeia Stokes added 15 and Alexa Hayward had 12. SFU went 17-of-26 from the charity stripe while RMU was 10-of-14.
 
Trailing 62-46 with 7:10 left in regulation, the Colonials began chipping away at the Red Flash lead. Smith started the surge with a three-point play and Ravelli scored seven of her points during the 18-5 run. A pair of free throws by the Italian-born guard brought the Colonials to within three points, 67-64, with 1:36 showing.
 
Saint Francis was able to make just enough free throws down the stretch, however, to keep the Colonials at bay. A lay-up by Janee Brown with nine seconds left made it a two-point game before Hayward hit one free throw on the other end. A desperation heave by Stamolamprou at the buzzer was off target and the Red Flash survived to a 71-68 victory.
 
Things looked good for the Colonials early on as they beat the Red Flash high pressure defense and got easy looks to build a 6-2 lead. RMU went up 11-5 on an Ashley Ravelli three-pointer and would lead 13-10 with 13:10 left in the opening frame.
 
Saint Francis tallied the next nine points, starting a 20-4 run that finished with the host squad holding a 33-19 lead on a Cydney Smith three-pointer. A 6-0 surge by RMU cut the margin to eight points, but the Red Flash scored the final five points of the half to take a 40-27 lead at the break.
 
"It's still early in the season and we know what we have to do and just continue to work hard," said Buscaglia.
 
The Red Flash were shooting just 33 percent overall and 23.8 percent from long-range coming into the game, but they caught fire in the opening frame going 15-31 overall and 8-14 on three-pointers. Brock, a 21-percent three-point shooter, was 4-of-5 in the first half and tallied 19 points in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Robert Morris continues its three-game road trip Saturday, January 10, when it travels to Central Connecticut State for a 1:00 p.m. game at Detrick Gymnasium.