Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team watched a six-game win streak end and suffered it's first Northeast Conference setback at the hands of Fairleigh Dickinson, 83-68, at the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday afternoon. The Colonials slip to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in league play.
 
"It certainly was a disappointing effort on our part. All the credit has to go to Fairleigh Dickinson. They played harder over the 40 minutes, and when we tied the game in the second half, they responded and we didn't," said 13th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "We certainly have to step up our level of play and intensity, not just in games but also in practice. We have to look forward to our next practice and not look further down the road. If we do that, I think it's going to be a successful season, even with this first conference setback. We're certainly not going to let this one game define our season, even as disappointing as it may be."
 
The Colonials struggled from the floor going just 26-of-77 (33.8%) overall and 7-of-31 (22.6%) on shots from three-point range. On the other end, the Knights were much more efficient, connecting at 54.9 percent (28-51) overall to overcome 20 turnovers.
 
After RMU scored on its first possession of the game, the Knights scored the next 11 points to take an early lead. Consecutive run-out baskets by Janee Brown, who had a season-high 10 points, started an 11-0 run by the Colonials. Brown had six points during the surge, with featured six fast-break points, as RMU retook the lead, 13-11, on a lay-up by Leah Wormack with three minutes left in the opening quarter.
 
The back-and-forth action continued throughout the first three quarters with the game featuring 11 ties and 13 lead changes. The next big run again belonged to the blue and white, an 8-0 push ended with a short jumper by Shakema Dashiell that gave RMU its biggest lead, 21-16, with 7:30 left in the first half. The teams traded leads four more times before the halftime buzzer sounded with the game in a 29-29 tie.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson went on a 12-0 run over 3:14 in the third quarter to take a 48-37 lead with Brianna Thomas and Erika Livermore each scoring five points. A short jumper by Mikalah Mulrain started another Colonial run and featured three-pointers from Rebeca Navarro, Stamolamprou and Dashiell. The final shot by Dashiell capped a 14-3 surge that knotted the game at 57-57.
 
After trading baskets on five consecutive possessions, the Knights iced the game with an 11-0 run over a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. The Colonials went 0-7 during the stretch which allowed FDU to get out in front, 71-60, with just 2:14 left in regulation.
 
Robert Morris will look to get back into the win column when they host Mount St. Mary's in a 2:00 p.m. game on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.