MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Robert Morris closed the game
on a 22-8 run to defeat Mount St. Mary's 74-61 in Northeast
Conference (NEC) women's basketball action on Saturday. With the
loss, the Mount (8-20, 5-12 NEC) was eliminated from postseason
contention for the second-straight season.
Mary Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) paced the
Mountaineers with 22 points. Selina Mann (Gainesville,
Va./Battlefield) added 11 points, seven assists and four steals
while Kelly Guerriero (Floral Park, N.Y./Archbishop Malloy) chipped
in 11 points off the bench in the loss.
Yohanna Morton, who missed the last six games with an injury,
returned to fuel the Colonials (14-13, 11-6 NEC) with 18 points off
the bench. Armetis Spanou tallied 15 points and 15 rebounds, and
Destiny Harrison added 12 points in the winning effort.
Mount St. Mary's battled back from an eight-point halftime
deficit to take the lead before Robert Morris closed the game by
scoring 22 of the final 30 points and limiting the Mount to
two field goals in the final 12 minutes to end the Mountaineers
postseason aspirations.
Trailing 40-32 at the break, Mount St. Mary's scored the first
nine points of the final frame to grab a 41-40 edge. Ashley
Christie (Miamisburg, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) started the surge with
a 3-pointer at 19:41 before Dunn nailed a triple at 17:44 to make
it a two-point game. Tara Lonergan (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South
Side) then gave the Mount a 41-40 lead on a traditional 3-point
play at 17:08.
The two teams would then wrestle for the lead over the next
seven minutes. Dunn hit a jumper with 12:24 left for the Mount's
last field goal until the final minute of play to give the
Mountaineers a 51-50 lead. Kristine Silaraja answered for the
Colonials with a layup at 11:47 to give Robert Morris the lead
back.
Sandra Andresson (Tallinn, Estonia/Audentes School) hit two free
throws at 11:16 to give the Mountaineers their final lead of the
afternoon at 53-52, but Harrison responded for the Colonials with
two at the stripe with 9:44 to hand the lead back over to Robert
Morris for good at 54-53. The two free throws from Harrison started
a 15-3 lead to put the game away.
The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth for the first 10
minutes of the first half. With the score tied at 19, the Colonials
scored eight unanswered points to grab a 27-19 edge at 7:18.
Mount St. Mary's answered with a 9-0 run to take a 28-27 margin
with 5:02 on the clock. Guerriero hit consecutive 3-pointers at
6:50 and 5:47 before Kaufman nailed a trey at 5:02 to complete the
run and give the Mount the lead for the final time.
With the Mount holding a 28-27 lead at 5:02 in the first half,
the Colonials closed the stanza on a 13-4 run to grab a 40-32
advantage going into the locker room. Morton sparked Robert Morris
with nine points in this stretch.
Morton gave the Colonials the lead on a 3-pointer at 4:20 before
the senior converted two at the free throw line at 3:43 for a 32-28
lead. Spanou then scored in the lane at 3:19 before Mann answered
for the Mountaineers with two charity tosses 15 seconds later.
Spanou and Guerriero then traded baskets before Morton scored the
final four points of the stanza in the last 39 seconds to give
Robert Morris an eight-point lead at the break.
Dunn notched her second-straight 20-point performance, her fifth
of the season and seventh of her career. The senior tied the
all-time career games played mark with 116 and will set a new mark
in the final game of the year against Saint Francis (Pa.) on
Monday. Game time is 7 p.m.
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