Gainesville, Fla. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team struggled with the Florida Gators and their high-pressure style as they fell to the Southeastern Conference member, 79-52, at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla, Sunday afternoon. The Gators, who were receiving votes in the most recent national polls, improve to 9-1 overall while the Colonials slip to 4-4.
 
"Playing two BCS schools, one from the Big 10 who is 19th in the country, and then following it up with another BCS powerhouse who will soon be in the top 25, is a very big challenge. Although we fell short, I believe we gave a great deal of effort and I think it will prove to be very beneficial in our future games," said 13th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "Both environments were very hostile, but with a great college atmosphere. These are all experiences that I want my players to be a part of. We still have a lot of work to do, but, as I said before, I think it's going to be a really exciting season for us as we finish non-conference play and head into our NEC schedule
 
"Anna Niki certainly showed the level she can play at. I thought Mikalah Mulrain played extremely hard and did not back down and that's what you need to do in every game, especially against a team with so many great athletes and great size."
 
Anna Niki Stamolamprou led all scorers with 19 points going 8-of-15 from the floor and drilling three-of-six three-point tries. She added four assists and two rebounds. Robert Morris committed 24 turnovers resulting in 28 Florida points. The Colonials were just as active defensively forcing 21 miscues and scoring nearly half, 22, of their points off Gators giveaways.
 
Florida had three players reach double-digits led by Haley Lorenzen and Eleanna Christinaki with 13 points each. Dyandria Anderson tacked on 12 points.
 
A sloppy first quarter saw the teams combine for 15 turnovers. Florida was able to use a 6-2 run, fueled by four points from Cassie Peoples, to take a 14-6 lead and break open a one-point game. The Colonials scored the final four points of the first quarter, a lay-up by Megan Smith followed by free throws from Ashley Ravelli and Mikalah Mulrain to make it 14-9 at the first break.
 
After missing its first six three-pointers to start the game, Robert Morris hit four in a row, cutting the Gators lead to 25-21 with 3:31 to play in the half. Navarro hit the first two followed by a pair from Stamolamprou. Florida, however, had the final six points of the half, including two of their own from long range to push the margin to double-digits, 36-25, at halftime.
 
The Gators opened the game up in the third quarter, outscoring the Colonials 25-9 in the frame to stretch the margin to 60-34. RMU committed eight turnovers in the frame that Florida was able to convert into 11 points.
 
The Colonials remain in the southeast, traveling north to Statesboro, Ga., for an 11:00 a.m. contest at Georgia Southern Thursday, Dec. 17.