Moon Township, Pa. – In a back-and-forth affair, the Robert Morris women's basketball team was edged out by Detroit Mercy, 61-55 on Thursday night in Horizon League action at the UPMC Events Center.

With the loss, the Colonials slip to 9-15 overall, including a 3-12 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, the Titans improve to 4-20 this season with a 2-13 record in league play.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Robert Morris held a 45-39 advantage at the end of the third quarter before Detroit Mercy opened the fourth on an 8-4 run, where they shot two-of-two from the field and four-of-four from the foul-line to trim the deficit, 49-47. The two squads traded the next eight points before sophomore center Danielle Vuletich converted a layup and was fouled for a chance at a three-point play. After Vuletich missed the free-throw, Emma Trawally Porta and Lucia Fleta Robles connected on consecutive layups to knot the score at 55-55, with 2:10 remaining. The Colonials missed a pair of freebies and Imani McNeal connected on a layup to give the Titans a two-point advantage. After a missed layup and a pair of turnovers by RMU, Detroit Mercy converted 4-of-6 from the charity stripe to ice the game.

It was a slow start for the Colonials as the Titans opened the game with a 14-4 run, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor and all 14 points coming inside the paint. Robert Morris ended the quarter by scoring 10 of the next 17 points, led by sophomore Phoenix Gedeon and freshman Louella Allana. Freshman Natalie Johnson sparked a 6-2 run to begin the second quarter as the Colonials trailed 23-20 with 6:44 remaining. The two squads traded baskets the remainder of the second quarter as Detroit Mercy held a 29-27 lead at the break.

THE RUN
With 4:22 remaining in the third quarter, an Irene Murua layup gave the Titans a six-point advantage, 39-33. Robert Morris then countered with a 12-0 run, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-4 from behind the arc, while forcing three turnovers and collecting two steals. A Gedeon jumper sparked the run before Allana buried a triple to cut the deficit to one, 39-38. After a Detroit Mercy miss, Vuletich knocked down a three-pointer from straight on to give the Colonials the lead. Sophomore guard Alejandra Mastral came up with a steal and a fast break layup before junior Mackenzie Amalia converted a layup to top the run, 45-39.

QUOTABLE
"We're trying to find a balance right now," RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia said. "We allowed them to do things and get off to a hot start and they hit shots, I got to give them credit. They got to where they wanted to go early in the game and we missed some shots but you can't give up 21 points in the first quarter. We just need to do a better job of making it uncomfortable for other teams."

BENCH STRIKING
With a limited lineup, a big positive for the Colonials was the production from their bench. The RMU bench outscored Detroit Mercy 29-0 on Thursday, a large part coming from Vuletich who finished with a team leading 15 points and seven rebounds. She finished 7-for-14 from the floor with a triple and collected a team-high three steals. Allana registered eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field with two big three-pointers and dished out four assists. Johnson fished with six points on two-of-two shooting with a pair of free-throws and a steal in the loss.

QUOTABLE
"It was one of the bright spots today in a loss like that, we had some real great bench contribution with knocking down shots and making plays," Buscaglia continued. "Louella had four assists today coming off the bench and hit a pair of threes that we needed during that run and it's nice to see her bouncing back from being out. Danielle had some tough moments early on but she bounced back down the stretch and I got to give her credit for that because that's what I talk about being able to bounce back the next possession. Natalie gave us solid minutes tonight and knocked down a pair of jumpers for us as well."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Gedeon recorded her 11^th double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 boards, while Mastral finished with six points, four rebounds, and two steals. Amalia chipped in five points and finished with a team-high six assists, while Rebecca Dwomoh chipped in five points and two steals on Thursday.

UP NEXT
RMU continues its homestand when it welcomes Oakland to the UPMC Events Center on Saturday afternoon, with tip-off set for 1:00 p.m.

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