Moon Township, Pa. – Thanks to a blistering 22-7 first quarter start, the Robert Morris University moved into a tie for first place in the Northeast Conference (NEC) this afternoon as it defeated Sacred Heart, 66-56, from the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Robert Morris (18-10, 13-4 NEC) never trailed in the contest, despite Sacred Heart (16-12, 13-4 NEC) trimming the deficit to two points on four second half occasions. After the Pioneers cut the Colonials' lead to 46-44, the hosts responded with an 11-0 run to secure their 13th league victory and 12th over the last 14 games.
"We had some moments over the bulk of the second and third quarters, things that were uncharacteristic of us," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "We couldn't dwell on those and needed to go forward in a positive way. We played with a lot of intelligence in the fourth quarter and did a good job attacking the [Sacred Heart] defense. I thought the difference was that we took good shots in that fourth quarter and made it tough for them defensively."
RMU had three players reach double-figure scoring, led by Anna Niki Stamolamprou's 18-point effort. Nneka Ezeigbo added 15 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while Janee Brown scored 11 of her 14 points in the first half.
The Colonials turned a 2-2 deadlock into a 16-2 advantage over the course of nearly five minutes, starting with a three-pointer from Megan Smith at the top of the key. Janee Brown then weaved through the defense before banking in a layup, followed by a pair of baskets by Ezeigbo. RMU's run continued after the media timeout, as Brown canned a trey out of the break and Stamolamprou drilled a jumper to make it a 14-point difference.
Once the Colonials' advantage reached 22-7, SHU began chipping away by running its offense through Katherine Haines, who finished the game with a 23-point, 18-rebound double-double. Haines scored the first six points of the second quarter and helped the visitors pull within 10, before a Brown left-handed runner at the buzzer fell to make it 36-24.
An 8-2 stretch to start the second half cut the gap to 38-32 before Ezeigbo stopped the bleeding with a put-back layup. However, Haines scored a pair of baskets following a media timeout and Erin Storck converted in the lane to make it a two-point game.
From there, the teams traded the next four baskets to carry the two-point difference into the fourth quarter. After two free throws from Rebeca Navarro and an Adaysha Williams jumper, Smith kickstarted the aforementioned 11-0 run with a tough layup in the paint. Stamolamprou then buried a shot from the elbow off a curl, and Nia Adams continued the stretch with a great backdoor cut for an easy bucket.
Stamolamprou found nothing but net on a three-pointer from the wing, making it 55-44 with 3:16 remaining. After Navarro followed up a Smith miss with a shot off the glass, a Shelby Hickey trifecta finally put the Pioneers back on the board after a drought of 4:31.
"When you're not shooting the ball well, staying in control mentally is very important," said Buscaglia. "That shot by [Anna Niki] was a testament to her challenging herself every day and withstanding the pressure that things haven't come easy to her. I always give credit to those who struggle but find a way to push through, and that big three from her was an example of that."
RMU closed the game well after gaining a comfortable lead, sinking 9-of-12 attempts from the chalk over the final 1:24.
The Colonials shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor despite converting on just 3-of-15 three-point attempts. RMU's defense held the Pioneers to a 31.6 percent (18-of-57) performance on field goals and a 20 percent (4-of-20) effort from deep.
This now marks four consecutive wins for RMU over SHU.
Robert Morris closes the regular season on Monday, Feb. 27 in its Play4Kay game against Fairleigh Dickinson. With a victory, the Colonials can clinch a share of their first NEC regular-season crown since 2014, while a win and a Sacred Heart loss to Saint Francis U will secure the top seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament.
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