Women's hoops fall to Robert Morris Wed. in NEC Semifinals

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite scoring 42 second half points, the second-seeded Bryant University women's basketball team fell to #3 Robert Morris, 68-62, in the Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals Wednesday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

The Bulldogs (22-9) close the book on a historic 2014-15 NEC campaign which featured their first-ever NEC Regular Season Title, a program-record tying 22 wins and a program-record 14 NEC wins, while the Colonials (17-14) advance to the NEC Finals for the second-straight season.

Senior point guard Jenniqua Bailey (Bloomfield, Conn.) led the Black and Gold with a game-high 18 points and seven assists, while NEC Player of the Year Breanna Rucker (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in 14 points and 10 boards for her 22nd double-double of the season. Junior Tiersa Winder (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore Morgan Olander (Mansfield, Conn.) each finished with 10 points apiece, with Winder adding five boards and four steals.

For the Colonials, sophomore guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou led her team with 16 points, six boards and four assists, while Rebecca Navarro finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

Despite being on the road, it was Robert Morris who came storming out of the gates on Wednesday, jumping out to a 15-7 lead just six minutes into the contest. A 7-0 Bulldog run brought the hosts with a point, 15-14, for a brief moment, but the Colonials weathered the Bryant push and extended the lead to 14 points, 34-20, heading into halftime.

Out of the break, RMU continued to maintain its double-digit advantage through the eight-minute mark despite a few runs from the Bulldogs. However, out of the under-eight media break, the Black and Gold started their push, going on a 10-2 run to cut the margin to three points, 55-52, with 3:25 left to play. But just as they had done all night long, the Colonials weathered Bryant's blow and extended the gap back to eight points, 66-58, with 35 ticks left on the clock.

In the final seconds, a Jenniqua Bailey free throw and a Dani Anderson (Wellington, Kan.) 3-pointer brought the hosts to within four, 66-62, but they would not get any closer, eventually falling 68-62.

Robert Morris led the entire 40 minutes and overcame 22 turnovers, compared to just 13 for Bryant, to advance to the NEC Tournament Championship game for the second-consecutive year where they will faceoff with #5 St. Francis Brooklyn.

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs await to see what the future holds with the possibility of a WNIT berth on the horizon. The 64-team WNIT field will be announced Monday night after the NCAA Tournament bracket is released.