Moon Township, Pa. / Charles L. Sewall Center-The Robert Morris University women's basketball team defeated Long Island University, 56-46, in a Northeast Conference game at the Charles L. Sewall Center Thursday evening. The Colonials, now 13-7 overall and tied for first in the NEC with Sacred Heart at 8-1, held the Blackbirds (12-8, 6-3 NEC) to 32.7 percent shooting for the game.
Robert Morris senior guard Monica Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Woodland Hills (Howard College)) finished with a season-best and game-high 16 points, going 6-of-14 from the field. She hit three-of-five trifectas while tacking on three rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Junior guard Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia / Ventspils (Barton County)) added 11 points to go along with a career-best eight boards. Freshman Vega Gimeno-Martinez (Valencia, Spain / Spanish National U-20) tacked on eight points and junior Yohanna Morton (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / Arizona Western) chipped in with seven points off the bench.
Holding a four-point lead at the midway point of the first half, Jones hit a short jumper from the paint prior to Silaraja getting to the rim for two points on a nifty crossover. The baskets started a 16-3 run for the Colonials during which Jones scored seven points. When the senior scored on a lay-up with 1:57 left in the half, Robert Morris was holding a 31-14 lead.
Tamika Guz and Ashley Palmer tallied the final four points of the half for Long Island, making the halftime score 31-17. RMU dominated the stat sheet, tallying 14 points in the paint on the strength of 10 first half rebounds by sophomore Mary Durojaye (London, England / English National U-20). The Colonials also had 12 points off turnovers and 10 second chance points.
Robert Morris pushed the lead out to 15 points early in the second half. Long Island cut the margin to nine points when Guz, who finished with nine points, hit a short baseline jumper with 11:31 left. Jones responded with a three-pointer, ending the threat and giving the Colonials a double-digit lead they would not surrender.
Chelsi Johnson topped the Blackbirds scorers with 14 points while Palmer finished with a double-double, grabbing 12 boards to go along with 11 points.
Robert Morris shot 38.9 percent (21-54) including an impressive 7-for-12 showing (58.3) from three-point range. Long Island held the rebounding edge, 40-35, but committed 21 turnovers to 17 for the hosts.
The Colonials host St. Francis (N.Y.) (1-19, 0-9 NEC) in a 4:00 p.m. contest Saturday, January 30, at 4:00 p.m.
