Moon Township, Pa. – Anna Niki Stamolamprou, a senior guard on the Robert Morris University women's basketball team, tied school records in both points scored (39) and field goals made (15) as the Colonials defeated LIU Brooklyn, 83-42, this evening in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Robert Morris (7-8, 2-2 NEC) also showcased a stingy defense against LIU Brooklyn (2-13, 1-3 NEC), establishing a single-game program record for points allowed in a quarter (3, first quarter) and what is believed to be another school standard in opponent field goal percentage (19.6 percent). The Colonials held the Blackbirds to 9-of-46 shooting from the field, including a 1-of-20 performance from the visitors' leading scorers Shanovia Dove and Aja Boyd.
"We played with a lot of accountability to start the game off and played very smart early on," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "As the game went on, we had a little bit of a lull, but I was very proud of how we came back from that. We pushed ahead in the second half and set the tone, and did a good job at maintaining for 40 minutes today."
Stamolamprou's 39 points matches Artemis Spanou's effort on Feb. 8, 2014 against St. Francis Brooklyn. The 15 made field goals has happened on three different occasions entering tonight, most recently on March 9, 2008 by Sade Logan against Monmouth.
"[Anna Niki] had one of those days today where she kept going," said Buscaglia. "We worked on that a lot yesterday because she had such a tough performance on Saturday [against St. Francis Brooklyn], which was uncharacteristic for her. She took that hard, but we made sure to keep her head up and have her understand that we need her out there playing free. She did a great job at responding and I'm very proud of her for that."
RMU scored the game's opening 15 points as it raced out to a 23-3 lead after 10 minutes. Stamolamprou scored the contest's first eight points, tallied 13 overall in the frame, and connected on all three of her attempts from deep.
The difference dipped below 20 briefly at the beginning of the second quarter, but a trifecta from senior guard Rebeca Navarro made it 26-5 with 9:07 remaining in the half. The Colonials then scored 11 of the next 15 points to push the lead to 37-9, but LIU Brooklyn closed with a 10-2 run to set the halftime score at 39-19.
The hosts also held the Blackbirds to single-digits in the third quarter as a late trey from junior guard Shakema Dashiell made it 63-27 heading into the fourth quarter. Buckets by senior guard Janee Brown, junior forward Jocelynne Jones, and freshman guard Ja'lynn Burton-Jones in the closing stanza made it so all 11 RMU players made the scoresheet.
A corner three off an inbounds play with 7:40 remaining gave Stamolamprou a new career-high of 31 points, dashing past her previous best of 28 (Jan. 31, 2015 vs. Bryant). The fourth-year guard would finish the frame with 11, tying the school record with a jumper off an assist from Brown.
Stamolamprou came a rebound shy of posting a double-double, adding nine rebounds, three steals, and two assists to her record-tying night. She finished 15-of-22 from the field, 6-of-10 on three-pointers, and 3-of-5 from the free throw stripe.
Junior forward Megan Smith added nine points on 3-of-6 shooting, while sophomore guard Nia Adams tallied seven points and three assists in her first career start.
"Nia's been working hard in practice and she earned a chance to start today," said Buscaglia. "Sometimes you mix up your lineups to give someone an opportunity and see if they respond. I thought she did a great job accepting the challenge."
Tonight marked the fourth time this season that RMU has held its opponent to under 30 percent shooting, while the 42 points allowed tied its season low (Dec. 4, 2016 vs. Howard). The Colonials entered the contest as the NEC's top-ranked team in scoring defense (61.6) and field goal percentage defense (.387).
RMU made 11 three-pointers as a team – its fourth game this season where it has made 10 or more attempts from deep.
Robert Morris returns to the road for a brief moment as a Saturday, Jan. 14 date with a 1:00 p.m. opening tip at Wagner College is its only game away from the Charles L. Sewall Center over the next four contests.
