ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Robert Morris University women's basketball team dropped a Saturday afternoon matchup against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 65-60 at the Athletic Center O'rena. The loss drops RMU to 1-3 on the year and 1-1 in Horizon League play.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

After trading leads with Oakland for large stretches of the opening two quarters Saturday, the Colonials finally managed to catch up and flip the script on the Golden Grizzlies with a 9-4 run in the second. Behind by six with under seven to play in the first half of action, a steal and layup from freshman Simone Morris kicked off a 9-4 run for Robert Morris during the waning minutes of the opening half. A layup and three ball from Mackenzie Amalia helped the Colonials grab a 28-26 lead with under four to play before another three and two free throws from Nina Augustin  gave RMU the 33-32 lead after twenty.

IN THE PAINT

Despite the loss, the Colonials managed a season-high 60 points thanks largely in part to a dominant performance in the interior against the Grizzlies.  Robert Morris outscored Oakland 44-16 in the paint on the afternoon while also enjoying an 11-6 edge in offensive rebounds, the most points they've scored in the paint since posting 46 against Purdue Fort Wayne in their regular season finale on February 20 of last season. Center Ashya Klopfenstein grabbed eight boards and posted a career-high 15 points in the effort, with all the junior's points coming in the paint.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Starting the third quarter on an 8-2 run, Robert Morris found itself in control for much of the second half of play however a tenacious Oakland team kept chipping away until they finally managed to leapfrog the Colonials with under five to play.  With RMU holding onto a two-point lead, a shot-clock violation on the Colonials put the ball back in the hands of Oakland's Brianna Breedy who quickly found Kahlaijah Dean for an open look three to make it 57-56, their first lead of the second half.  A clinical effort at the charity stripe saw Oakland go 6-6 from the line over the final four minutes to close things out on an 11-4 run.

TRIPLE THREAT

RMU saw three players score in double figures in a game for the first time this season as Ashya Klopfenstein, Nina Augustin and Sol Castro finished with 15, 11 and 10, respectively.  The effort set a new career high for Klopfenstein and marks the first time she's hit double digits at RMU, while Castro has now done some three times in the first four games of the season.

NEXT UP

RMU returns home for a Wednesday afternoon non-conference clash against Morehead State on November 24 at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+.