Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team once again leaned on its defense in the fourth quarter to pick up a 61-56 Northeast Conference victory over Mount St. Mary's at the Charles L. Sewall Center Monday afternoon. The win moves the Colonials to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in the NEC while the Mountaineers slip to 4-13 and 2-4 in league contests.
 
"I'm very pleased with the focus and the intensity we gave today in bouncing back from our sub-par performance on Saturday," said RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "We still need to work on things and I'm hopeful that the shooting we had in non-conference play will come back. I feel that shooting this poorly and still winning shows how you can win games by doing the other things – rebounding, playing good defense, hitting free throws, etc. – well.
 
"Jocelynne Jones came in and rebounded very well and gave us a bunch of second chance scoring opportunities. Anna Niki was great from the free throw line while Ashley Ravelli came through with some key plays at the end of the game. Leah Wormack was very positive and responded very well with 10 points and a good post presence. "
 
Junior forward Jocelynne Jones came off the bench to play 26 minutes and record her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Eight of those boards came on the offensive end of the floor, helping RMU score 14 second chance points. Jones added two assists and three steals as well.
 
Jones wasn't the only forward who had a big game as senior center Leah Wormack added 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forwards Mikalah Mulrain and Megan Smith added six and five points, respectively, giving the RMU frontcourt 33 total points. Junior guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou hit double-digits with 10 points.


 
The Mount took a two-point lead, 48-46, on a Kayla Bates three-pointer just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter. That would be just one of three field goals RMU surrendered in the final 10 minutes. The Colonials would go on an 11-4 run over the next 7:31, holding the Mount to 1-of-7 shooting and causing three turnovers. The surge started with a jumper by Wormack while Jones and Ashley Ravelli each contribed four points. Ravelli's jumper, on an assist by Jones, with 2:13 left put the Colonials on top, 57-52.
 
Mount scored on a lay-up a minute later to cut the margin to three points, but Stamolamprou hit four consecutive free throws in the final minute to build the Colonials lead to a game-high seven points with 26 seconds left. RMU outrebounded the Mount, 15-7, in the final quarter, part of a 46-32 advantage in the game.
 
A back-and-forth first quarter featured a trio of runs, he first a 7-0 surge by RMU that was equaled by Mount St. Mary's. The Colonials then scored six consecutive points, all from the free-throw line, before a three by Alexis Cater, who finished with a game-high 16 points, tied the game at the end of the first quarter.
 
Neither team was able to establish control in the second quarter as the score was tied eight times and the lead changed hands five times. Each team scored 17 points in the frame and the game went into break tied at 32.
 
Robert Morris is back on the hardwood Saturday, January 23, as they travel to Bryant University. The game features the top two teams in the league, Bryant perfect at 6-0 and RMU in second at 5-1. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.

Post-Game Reaction with Coach Charlie Buscaglia: