March 13, 2016

RMU 56 (20-12), Sacred Heart 51: The Colonials clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament Sunday after defeating Sacred Heart in the NEC Championship Game in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Colonials went into halftime with a 31-27 lead, and didn’t let the Pioneers take a lead in the second half. RMU held the lead from the 4:30 mark of the second quarter, after a layup from Mikalah Mulrain, until the end of the contest. Sacred Heart got within one point of the Colonials with 14 seconds remaining on the game clock, but senior Ashley Ravelli hit two free-throws to give RMU the three-point edge. The Pioneers attempted a game tying three-point shot with six seconds to go on their ensuing possession, but the shot was off the mark. Sacred Heart then intentionally fouled junior Janee Brown, who made both shots at the free-throw line to increase RMU’s lead to 56-51 and secure the Colonials the conference tournament championship. Ravelli led all Robert Morris scorers with 14 total points. Junior Anna Niki Stamolamprou also finished with double-digit points (10). RMU shot 35.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from long-range. Robert Morris will find out their NCAA Tournament match-up this upcoming week.