The Robert Morris University women’s basketball team was unable to capture their first victory of the season as they lost a hard-fought contest with visiting Stony Brook University, 56-48, Wednesday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

After an extremely slow start, the Colonials battled but could not dig themselves out of their self-imposed hole and fell to 0-6 to start the season, their worst start in head coach Sal Buscaglia’s tenure at RMU.

Within the first seven minutes of the game, RMU was down 15-2 and could not get anything going offensively.

“We didn’t come out with the intensity we really needed tonight to begin the game,” explained Buscaglia. “I think a combination of not hitting shots and poor intensity is what led to our slow start tonight.”

The Colonials bounced back and cut their deficit to two, trailing 28-26 going into halftime after solid first-half performances from guard Lou Mataly and forward Artemis Spanou.

Mataly was 2-2 from beyond the arch and led the team with six points at the break, but the freshman found herself in early foul trouble which carried over into the second half. She finished the game with nine points.

Spanou led the way for the Colonials posting a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds, which tied her career high off the boards from their previous game against Iowa. The ALL-NEC forward liked the way her team fought back in the game, but was still unsatisfied with the result.

“After being down 15-2 within the first minutes, we really battled back to make it a two-point game at half-time,” stated Spanou. “Coming out in the second half, we tried our best but missed some rebounds we shouldn’t have missed. We all have to step it up and do our jobs on the court so we can start getting the W’s.”

The Colonials look next to a home contest on Sunday, where they face their cross-town rival Duquesne at 1:00pm. Coach Buscaglia likes the team’s chances going forward, but Sunday will be no cake-walk as the Dukes sit at 5-1 on the year.

“It’s certainly going to be a greater battle on Sunday than it was tonight,” stated Buscaglia. “But I think our young ladies will continue to grow together and improve.”