Moon Township, Pa. – In an offensive struggle, the Robert Morris women's basketball team dropped a 52-41 decision against Purdue Fort Wayne in Horizon League action at the UPMC Events Center Thursday evening.

With the loss, the Colonials fall to 7-5 overall with a 1-2 mark in conference action. RMU suffered its first defeat at home this season. Meanwhile, the Mastodons improve to 5-8 this season with a 2-1 record in Horizon League action.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Purdue Fort Wayne scored the first eight points of the contest, shooting three-of-four from the field and led by Amellia Bromenschenkel, with six points. The Colonials got on the board at the 6:01 mark when sophomore Gedeon Phoenix drilled two free-throws. RMU scored six of the next 11 points to trail 13-8 after one. Both teams were inconsistent to begin the second quarter as they combined shooting 2-of-12 from the floor before the media timeout. The Colonials registered a 7-4, led by sophomore Rebecca Dwomoh to trim the Mastodons lead, 19-17. The two teams traded the next six points as Purdue Fort Wayne held a 22-20 lead at intermission.

In the second half, it was a back and forth affair as both teams traded the opening eight points to begin the third quarter. After junior Mackenzie Amalia drilled a triple, the Mastodons scored 11 of the next 17 points to hold a 37-33 advantage. Purdue Fort Wayne stretched its lead in the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run before sophomore Simone Morris scored back-to-back buckets to trim the deficit.

QUOTABLE
"I told them before the game that this was going to be about heart, pushing through, and doing everything we can because we knew our timing was going to be difficult to catch like we were before we went on break," RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia said. "I wasn't disappointed with the effort and hustle as we were battling and mixing it up around the basket. They played very physical, I give them a lot of credit for how hard they play."

RISING STAR
Simone Morris paced the Colonials with 14 points on 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) shooting from the floor. She recorded 10 of her 14 points in the second half, connecting on four-of-six shots from the field and two-of-three from the charity stripe. Morris tallied five boards, one steal, and one block in 32 minutes of action.

QUOTABLE
"The game kind of slowed down for me because I felt a little more comfortable," Morris said. "I kept telling myself next play and that's something I struggled with last year as I would get down on myself after one or two bad things happened. I really worked to not let that affect me so much and really kept the relentless pursuit on those pieces."

PASSING THE MARK
With her five rebounds, Morris passed the century mark in career rebounds, giving her 101. It's the seventh time this season that she has collected five or more boards in a game. Gedeon registered 11 caroms against Purdue Fort Wayne, eclipsing the 200 mark for her career, giving her a total of 202. She has recorded nine or more boards in six games this season for RMU.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
In addition to Morris leading the way, Gedeon tallied her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, five of them coming on the offensive glass. Sophomore Alejandra Mastral led the team with three steals while grabbing four rebounds and Amalia collected a pair of steals and recorded four points.

UP NEXT
RMU continues Horizon League play when it hosts Cleveland State on Saturday, December 31, for a noon tip-off at the UPMC Events Center.

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