EMMITSBURG, Md. (March 2, 2020) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball was frustrated all night long by the Robert Morris Colonials, who came into Knott Arena Monday and ended the Mount's hope for a Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season crown. The Colonials defeated the Mountaineers by a 57-52 final.

The loss also ends the Mount's nine game winning streak.

The Mountaineers (19-10, 14-3 NEC) were held to 28.8 percent from the floor with multiple scoring droughts. Michaela Harrison hit some clutch shots late to lead the team with 15, and Bridget Birkhead scored 14 coming off the bench. Kendall Bresee was key in the first half en route to a 13 point game.

With the defeat, the Mount is locked in as the No. 2 seed in the NEC Tournament and will host the No. 7 seed in the quarterfinals next Monday (March 9).

Robert Morris (21-7, 16-1 NEC) were led by Nneka Ezeigbo and her double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. The Colonials clinched the NEC regular season crown and the No. 1 seed for the fourth straight season.

The stingy defense of Robert Morris set the tone early as the Mount – accustomed to hot starts of late –were held scoreless for the first six minutes. Birkhead finally cracked the defense with a three with 3:50 left on the clock. Mount kept the Colonials within sight, and Harrison buried a trey inside a minute to turn what could've been a disastrous start into a one possession game.

Robert Morris responded with tough defense again, leading to another scoring drought for the Mountaineers. Still the game remained close when the home side turned on the jets. Bresee kicked it off with a three as the Mount pulled off a 19-3 run to close the half. 13 of those points went unanswered, and only by Colonial free throws. Mount led 27-19 at half, led by Bresee's 12 points.

But unlike previous contests where Mount rode the momentum, Robert Morris came out strong to open the second half. More specifically, it was Ezegibo who took charge, scoring 11 uncontested points for a 30-27 Colonials lead. The visitors would extend the run to 17 before Bresee broke the spell with a free throw at the 3:51 mark. Birkhead hit back-to-back three's near the end of the quarter to keep the game within single digits entering the final minutes.

At several junctions, Mount carved into the Colonial advantage. Kayla Agentowicz broke the defense and scored on the team's first possession. Birkhead followed with a three to close the gap to two points at 41-39. Robert Morris responded with a layup by Ezegibo and locked in on the defensive side, inducing another lengthy drought for the Mount.

Harrison hit a three with 2:26 left to snap the cold streak, and another Agentowicz jumper got the Mount within four. The contest would stay at that advantage until the last 30 seconds.

With RMU up five, Harrison buried a trey from the wing to make the game 51-49 Colonials. The visitors would hit their foul shots, but Harrison responded again by banking one in inside of 10 seconds. RMU hit their shots from the stripe again, but the Mount had a chance to tie the game with a three. That shot would never come, as for one final time Robert Morris locked down on defense, forcing the Mountaineers into a half court pass that found no one. Isabella Posset sealed the game for the visitors with two last shots from the foul line.

The defeat marks the first time all season the Mount surrendered a halftime lead at the final buzzer.

Mount St. Mary's closes out the regular season at home Thursday (March 5), a 7 p.m. tip-off versus Fairleigh Dickinson.