Loretto, Pa. / De Gol Arena-The top-seeded Robert Morris University women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack and stiff defense to secure a 68-52 victory over #8 Wagner in the first round of the 2010 Northeast Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon at De Gol Arena in Loretto, Pa. Five different players reached double-digits and RMU held Wagner to just 31.3 percent shooting to improve to 23-7 on the season. The Seahawks end their year with a mark of 9-20.
Freshman Vega Gimeno-Martinez (Valencia, Spain / Spanish National U-20) recorded her first career double-double, tallying 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds to go with two blocks, an assist and a steal.
Senior Monica Jones (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Woodland Hills (Howard College)) led all scorers with 13 points, going 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. She added three assists and three steals. Junior Bianca Hooten (Canton, Ohio / Canton-McKinley (Bowling Green)) had 12 points, knocking down three three-pointers, and junior Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia / Barton County) had 11 points. Senior guard Angela Pace (Westchester, N.Y. / Woodlands (Monroe College)) scored 10 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Leading by three points five minutes into the contest, Pace hit a pair of free throws, starting an 11-4 run. The NEC's Defensive Player of the Year lived up to the award on the next two possessions coming up with steals that led to a wide open three and easy layup, both from Silaraja. Silaraja then hit two free throws for her seventh straight point before freshman Anna Gailite (Riga, Latvia / Latvian National U-20) staked RMU to a 20-10 lead with 12:17 left in the half.
The Seahawks responded by crashing the offensive boards, cutting the Colonials lead to 20-16 when Ashley Olsen knocked down a pair of free throws after pulling down offensive rebounds on consecutive possessions. The Colonials ended the mini-run by causing a shot clock violation. That led to the first of three three-pointers by Hooten that came during an 18-7 run by RMU over the final 9:29, giving RMU a 38-27 lead at the break.
Robert Morris pushed the lead out to 18 points, 51-33, on a 7-0 run with points coming from three different players. A three-point play by Megan Mahoney temporarily quelled the RMU run and an Olsen jumper cut the margin to 13 points with 12:13 to play. A 13-3 spurt over the next three and a half minutes by the Colonials, however, ended any hopes of a Seahawk comeback. RMU pushed the lead out to as many as 23 points as they cruised to a 68-52 win.
Olsen topped the Seahawks with 12 points while Marie-Laurence Arcahmbault added nine and Mahoney chipped in with eight.
Robert Morris shot 55.0 percent in the second half, finishing at 46.0 percent (23-50) for the game including 50 percent (9-18) from downtown. Wagner struggled with the RMU 2-3 zone, hitting a 31.3 percent (20-64) clip. The Seahawks held a 38-37 advantage on the glass highlighted by 17 offensive boards.
The Colonials take on the winner of the #4 Monmouth vs. #5 Saint Francis (Pa.) contest that started at 2:30 p.m. The semifinal contest is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 7.
