Photo courtesy of Justin Berl

Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team held the high-octane Saint Francis University offense to a season-low point output as the Colonials secured third place in the Northeast Conference regular season standings with a 57-43 win at the Charles L. Sewall Center Monday night.
 
Robert Morris finishes the regular season with a record of 17-12 and 11-7 in the NEC. The Colonials will host #6 Fairleigh Dickinson (11-20, 8-10 NEC) in the NEC Tournament Quarterfinals in a 1:00 p.m. game Sunday, Mar. 6, at the Sewall Center.
 
"I was really excited about how we came out to start the game. I think it set a tone for the rest of the game," said 13th-year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "We knew Saint Francis, like any other team, is going to battle back but I like how we, for the most part, kept our composure. I like how we're sharing the ball and how we're transferring what we go over in practice into game day.
 
"Now a whole season begins for us, and it's the most important season. We have to focus on our next practice, our next film session and our next game. We're looking forward to the challenge that our quarterfinal opponent Fairleigh Dickinson brings to us and we know we're going to have to play at a high level in order to be successful."


 
The Colonials held the league's top-scoring offense to a season-low 43 points on just 14-of-52 (26.9%) shooting for the game. RMU forced 21 turnovers, getting 19 points off those turnovers, and outscored the Red Flash 28-14 in the paint.
 
Anna Niki Stamolamprou had a game-high 16 points, adding six rebounds and four assists as well. Megan Smith and Mikalah Mulrain each tacked on nine points with Mulrain ripping down a game-high nine boards. Jocelynne Jones chipped in six points and Leah Wormack added four points as the RMU forwards accounted for 28 points.
 
Stamolamprou scored 10 points in the opening quarter, staking the Colonials to a 22-5 lead after the opening 10 minutes. The Colonials pushed the lead to as many as 20 points, 25-5, when Ashley Ravelli buried a trey just seconds into the second frame.
 
Saint Francis (13-16, 11-7 NEC) briefly came to life with a 10-3 surge over the next five minutes to trim the margin to 13 points. Eight points from RMU forwards, including four from Jones, over the final four minutes of the quarter put the Colonials on top, 36-20, at half. RMU allowed just five first half field goals – a season-best – as the Red Flash shot just 5-26 (19.2%).
 
Twice in the third quarter Saint Francis was able to cut the lead to 10 points, but each time the Colonials answered immediately. One of those times was at the start of the fourth quarter. Robert Morris scored the first six points of the second frame to take a 16-point lead. Their defense took over from there, allowing just five points by SFU in the game's final quarter. The Red Flash did not score for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
 
Jessica Kovatch led a balanced Saint Francis attack with 11 points. Halee Adams tacked on eight points and six rebounds.