Fairfield, Conn. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team used a big first half run to take a halftime lead at Sacred Heart Monday night. The Pioneers, however, had a bigger surge in the second half to take a 69-60 victory over the Colonials at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn. The loss is the second straight for RMU who falls into second-place in the Northeast Conference standings at 12-4 and 14-13 overall.
 
Anna Niki Stamolamprou led all players with 19 points. After a slow 1-for-7 start, she finished the game 7-of-17 overall including 4-of-9 on three-pointers. The sophomore also added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ashley Ravelli scored 14 points off the bench as RMU shot under 40 percent for the first time since Jan. 12.

"We did not play to the level that we are capable of or that we need to play," said 12th-year head coach Sal Buscaglia. "We have to back to what we had much prior to this road trip which is playing together as a team and putting out an extreme amount of effort each and every game. We need to go back and have a good week of practice and not set our sights any farther ahead than our next opponent."
 
The Colonials early shooting reflected the frosty 60-degree temperature in the Pitt Center as they fell behind 17-7 by starting the game 3-for-15 from the field. Five consecutive points from the Pioneers (14-11, 9-6 NEC) Hannah Kimmel were followed by a jumper from Alissa Tarsi that completed a 7-0 run.
 
A three-pointer by Ravelli sparked a 7-0 surge that would bring Robert Morris to within three points when Jolie Olingende finished off an assist from Ravelli. Sacred Heart pushed the lead back to five by scoring four of the next six points.
 
Judith Sole then buried a trey from the top of the key and Stamolamprou followed with one from left wing that gave RMU its first lead of the game, 22-21, with 2:47 left in the half. The run went to 8-0 on a short jumper by Ravelli that helped the Colonials close the half on a 20-6 run over the final 11 minutes.
 
After the cold start, RMU went 8-of-16 to finish the half shooting 11-for-31 overall. Sacred Heart finished the half 6-of-16 after hitting five of its first eight shots.
 
A three-pointer from Stamolamprou and a baseline jumper for Smith pushed the Colonials lead to 32-25 early in the second half. Over the next five minutes, however, RMU would commit four turnovers and miss four shots.
 
The Pioneers answered by going on a 16-0 run led by six points from Katie Shepard. By the time it was over following a pair from the chalk by Shelby Hickey, the hosts held a 41-32 lead.
 
Rebecca Navarro ended the extended drought with a baseline runner.  Jocelynne Jones was responsible for the next four points and the Colonials 6-0 mini-push cut the Pioneers lead to 41-38. A quick five points by Kimmell, however, pushed the margin back to eight points with 9:20 to play. The Colonials would no closer than six points after that.
 
Kimmel finished with 18 points and four rebounds. Katie Shepard had a near-perfect shooting night, going 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-5 from the chalk en route to 15 points. Lerae Ettienne added 10 points for Sacred Heart.
 
Robert Morris closes out the 2015 regular season with a pair of home games beginning with a 1:00 p.m. game against Saint Francis U. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Charles L. Sewall Center.