Youngstown, Ohio – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team lost to Horizon League member Youngstown State, 55-46, in a defensive battle at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio.  The loss drops the Colonials to 3-2 on the season while the Penguins stay unbeaten at 4-0.
 
The Colonials frontcourt accounted for 36 of the team's 46 points Tuesday night. Leah Wormack tallied 12 points off the bench while Mikalah Mulrain tacked on 10 points. Megan Smith, playing in foul trouble all night, ended with eight points and Jocelynne Jones had six points and eight rebounds in a reserve role.
 
Sarah Cash finished with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead all scorers.
 
"It was a disappointing loss . I really thought that, even though it was our fourth straight road game, we were well prepared. I felt there was a will to win," said 13th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "However, we shot the ball very poorly from the perimeter going just 3-for-28 from outside. We didn't play to the officials whistle, we have to learn to play to how the officials are calling the game. We didn't handle adversity for the full 40 minutes in a hostile environment. We have to make this a learning experience, keep our heads up and prepare for our next tough game against Northern Kentucky.
 
Youngstown State opened the game by making its first three three-pointers and quickly jumping out to a 9-2 lead against RMU. A choppy first quarter was plagued by whistles on both ends of the court as the Colonials fought to stay tight on the backs of their post players. Megan Smith had six first quarter points as the Penguins held a 21-10 lead in the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Colonials defense tightened in the second quarter, allowing a season-low six points to the Penguins. Robert Morris closed the first half on 7-1 run after falling behind, 26-14, on a second-chance lay-in by Alison Smolinski with 7:16 left in the half. The Penguins would not make a field goal the rest of the half.
 
A pull-up jumper by Anna Niki Stamolamprou started the Colonials finishing run. Mulrain hit a short jumper, followed by a Stamolamprou free throw before Jocelynne Jones hit a baseline shot to end the half with RMU trailing, 27-21.
 
Robert Morris would not allow Youngstown State a field for 13:19 of game time. The Colonials were unable to take advantage of the strong defense, however, as the Penguins held on to the lead, 38-31, going into the fourth quarter.
 
A long jumper by Morgan Olson followed with a trey by Alsion Smolinski pushed the Penguins lead back to 10 points, 43-33, with just over eight minutes to play. Robert Morris went to the post at that point. During an 8-0 run over the next three minutes, Wormack scored six points on back-to-the-basket moves to get the Colonials to within two points.
 
The next five points would belong to the Penguins, though, as a Sarah Cash lay-in pushed the margin back to seven points. A three-pointer by Lou Mataly was offset by a three-point play by Cash and the Penguins would extend the final score to 55-46 as the Colonials missed their last four shots of the game
 
Robert Morris returns to the Charles L. Sewall Center for the first time since its season opener when Northern Kentucky visits for a 1:00 p.m. contest Sunday, Nov. 29.