The Robert Morris University women’s basketball team came flying out of the gate in its third home contest of the season, with a barrage of 3-point shots from Anna Niki Stamolamprou, Megan Smith and Rebecca Navarro.

The Colonials ran away with this one in a 59-42 final score to move to 4-5 on the season; meanwhile, the Howard Bison fall to 1-6.

Robert Morris scored the first bucket of the game and held the lead for the rest of the game, as the Bison struggled to fight back from a first quarter in which RMU looked fast to the ball. It seemed as though RMU could not miss a shot.

“We came out with a lot of energy, and we came out with a lot of focus,” said head coach Charlie Buscaglia after the win. “On both ends of the floor, we were doing a good job of playing as a team, being accountable and really working hard and getting every loose ball.”

The Colonials’ offense and defense both showed in the numbers. In the first half, RMU shot 15-of-31 from the floor. Howard went into the locker room at halftime shooting 8-of-30 from the floor at a measly 26.6 percent.

The only thing that kept Howard in the game was its ability to get second-chance points. Bison forward Imani Bryant finished with 19 rebounds on the day, including 10 on the offensive end — which was as many as the Colonials had as a team.

It was those rebounds which allowed Howard to get as close as six points away from the Colonials, but Howard’s inability to shoot the basketball let RMU run away in the fourth quarter.

More good news for the Colonials came from the season debut of sophomore guard Nia Adams, who returned from injury after missing the first eight games of the season.

While she was unable to make any sort of impact on the game’s result, coach Buscaglia is confident that Adams will continue to see improvement as she shakes off the rust.

“You’re only going to be able to get back into things when you get back out on the floor,” said Buscaglia. “It was good for her to get out there and to have those moments on the floor where she is starting to feel it again and go at that speed, and hopefully she is ready to go again next time.”

Adams’ presence could continue to show a positive impact for the Colonials, as they look to turn the end of their losing streak into a newfound winning streak. Robert Morris next takes on the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road Dec. 9.