Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball closed its season-opening two-game home stand on a sour note, falling to Monmouth University, 69-56, this afternoon from the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Monmouth (1-0, 0-0 MAAC) held the lead for the majority of the game, only trailing twice in the first quarter. The Hawks did most of their damage from deep, hitting 9-of-21 shots from beyond the arc compared to Robert Morris' (1-1, 0-0 NEC) 5-of-12 effort.
"We have to do a better job in the moment," said first-year head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "We have to take care of the ball better and make good decisions in the lane. Second half, we could have came back because we were creating things, but we didn't play at the level we could play at down the stretch."
The Colonials were once again led offensively by junior forward Megan Smith, who posted her second career double-double in the team's opener against Point Park on Friday. Smith tallied a team-high 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, adding seven rebounds and three blocks in 32 minutes. Senior guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou was also in double-figures with 11 points in what was her season debut.
A trey from junior guard Shakema Dashiell and layup from senior Janee Brown sandwiched a Monmouth basket, giving RMU an early 5-2 lead. The visitors then scored on their next two possessions to go ahead, but a bucket from junior center Mikalah Mulrain moved the Colonials ahead once again.
That would be the last lead RMU would hold after a Rosa Graham layup pushed the Hawks in front, 8-7. A 12-2 run moved the deficit to double-digits at 20-9, but the Colonials picked up baskets from Smith, Stamolamprou, and senior guard Rebeca Navarro to close the gap to 22-16 after one quarter.
After Monmouth's lead grew to 19 with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter, the hosts rattled off nine unanswered points courtesy of Navarro, Stamolamprou, and junior forward Jocelynne Jones to make it 47-37 at the end of the frame. RMU then got an offensive rebound and putback from freshman center Nneka Ezeigbo to begin the final stanza, cutting the difference to single digits.
That difference didn't last long however, as the visitors scored 18 of the next 28 points to move ahead by 16. A late run again pulled the Colonials within nine following a Stamolamprou lay-in with a minute remaining, but the Hawks sealed the victory with four free throws.
Monmouth had three players in double-figures, paced by Tyese Purvis' game-high 15 points. Rosa Graham added 14 of the Hawks' 30 bench points, while Helena Kurt used a 6-of-8 performance from the chalk to register 11 points in total.
Ezeigbo pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds in 19 minutes. Brown dished out five assists and collected three steals.
Robert Morris now leaves the friendly confines of Moon Township to kick off a six-game road swing, starting with a five-hour trip across the Keystone State for a 7:00 p.m. meeting with Lafayette on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
