Box Score

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team fell on the road to Robert Morris, 66-51, in Northeast Conference action Monday night at the Sewell Center. With the victory, the Colonials improve to 7-8 (3-1 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-14 (0-4 NEC) overall.
 
The hosts jumped out to a 9-0 lead after the first three minutes and led by as much as 10 with 16:30 to go in the opening half. However FDU would answer with a 21-9 run, including a 17-5 spurt over a 10-minute period to go into halftime leading 22-20.
 
The Knights did a fantastic job on the defensive side of the ball and held star senior forward Artemis Spanou scoreless for over 17 minutes. The FDU defense also held the Colonials to 23 percent (9-of-39) shooting from the field over the first 20 minutes despite seeing Robert Morris grab 17 of its 34 first-half rebounds on the offensive glass.
 
"We played a great defensive in the first half," Head Coach Peter Cinella said. "Desiree Crawford (Aurora, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) and Tiffany Grant (Odenton, Md./Arundel) did a great job on NEC Player of the Year candidate Spanou. In the second half they were able to hit shots, and we weren't able to get enough good looks."
 
The Colonials found their shooting touch in the final 20 minutes and regained their first lead on a three-pointer by Spanou four minutes into the second half, the team's first lead since five minutes to go in the opening stanza. That bucket would spark a 13-0 run for the hosts, which proved to be the difference in the game.
 
Robert Morris would eventually stretch that run to 30-10 over a 10-minute stretch, with their largest lead amounting to 23 points, before the Knights started to claw back with a few minutes left before the final buzzer.
 
The Colonials shot significantly better in the second half (47 percent), including 5-of-12 from distance. Overall, FDU held Robert Morris to 34 percent (25-of-73) from the field and 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from three-point range.
 
The Knights finished the game shooting 35 percent (18-of-52) from the floor and knocked down 5-of-9 from behind the arc.
 
Sophomore Brianna Thomas (Baldwin, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) was the lone Knight in double-digits with 13 points to go along with six rebounds.  Fellow classmate Anastasia Williams (Central Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan) corralled a team-high nine rebounds, and junior Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) dished out a team-best four assists.
 
Spanou paced the Colonials with 14 points and 20 rebounds, with her final and 1,296th career board breaking a NEC conference record for career rebounds, which had stood for the previous 13 years. Her rebounding was part of a season-high 60 rebounds for the team, including 29 on the offensive glass.
 
FDU caps off its short conference road sweep on Saturday, Jan. 18 for a 1 p.m. tilt at Central Connecticut State in New Britain, Conn.