EMMITSBURG, Md. – Mount St. Mary's used a 16-0 run in the second half to take the lead and held on after a furious comeback attempt by Robert Morris for an 80-75 victory in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's basketball action on Monday.

Jessie Kaufman (Damascus, Md./Damascus) paced the Mount (9-14, 5-7 NEC) with 14 points while Ashley Christie (Miamisburg, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) added 10 points. Selina Mann (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) continues to stuff the stat sheet with nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds while junior Tara Lonergan (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side), and sophomores Kayla Grossett (Toronto, Ontario/David and Mary Thompson C.I.) and Kelly Guerriero (Floral Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) each had nine points in the winning effort.

Mary Durojaye and Briannica Tye fueled the Colonials (12-11, 6-6 NEC) with 18 points apiece. Josette Campbell registered 17 points and Artemis Spanou tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds the loss.

Mount St. Mary's started the game on a huge run, but had to use a 16-0 run in the second half to take the lead it would not relinquish and staved off a Robert Morris comeback attempt to end a four-game losing streak against the Colonials.

Trailing 54-53 with 7:11 left after a Campbell 3-pointer, the Mountaineers rolled off the next 16 points sparked by four 3-point plays and four free throws.

Kaufman started the spurt with a traditional 3-point play at 6:52 to give Mount St. Mary's the lead for good at 55-54. Mann and Guerriero followed with 3-pointers at 6:15 and 5:24, respectively, before Christie notched a traditional 3-point play at 4:12. Mann hit two free throws at 3:45 and a pair at the line from Henderson capped the run and hand the Mount a 69-54 advantage with 3:33 left.

Robert Morris then made the game interesting by going on a 21-9 run to cut the margin to 78-75 with 17 seconds remaining. Campbell paced the Colonials in the surge with eight points. During the three minutes, the Mount went 9 of 16 from the free throw line to aid the Robert Morris spurt. After Campbell trimmed the margin to three points with 17 seconds remaining, Mann drained two free throws with eight seconds left to seal the victory.

Sparked by seven points from Lonergan and five from Kaufman, Mount St. Mary's opened the game by scoring 22 of the first 31 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Fueled by six points from Spanou, Robert Morris then went on a 17-4 run to tie the game at 26 with 1:38 left in the half. Jen Carney (Drexel Hills, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) gave the Mount the lead going into the locker room on a jumper with 10 ticks on the clock. The Mountaineers are 6-1 when they lead at the break.

Mount St. Mary's increased its lead to start the second half to five points, but the Colonials rallied back to take a six point lead on two occasions. With Robert Morris holding a 49-43 lead, the Mount went on a 10-2 run to grab a 53-51 lead. Guerriero nailed two 3-pointers in the run while Lonergan and Kaufman each recorded baskets. Campbell then gave Robert Morris its final lead on 3-pointer before Kaufman started a 16-0 decisive run to help the Mountaineers to the victory.

The Mount scored 52 points in a half to mark the second time in three games the squad has posted 50 points in a half after not accomplishing the feat since 2008. The squad posted a season-high 80 points in a game. Thanks to the contributions from Kaufman, Christie, Guerriero, Lonergan and Carney, the Mount St. Mary's bench outscored the Colonial bench 46-2.

The Mount returns to action on Saturday at Wagner. The game against the Seahawks will be the first game in the NEC's Third Annual "Rivalry Week." The two teams will meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Spiro Center and then will return to Knott Arena on Feb. 15 to complete the season series in was has been dubbed the North-South Collision.