Colonials cough up lead, fall to Xavier in OT

Vince Russo, Staff Reporter

In its first overtime contest of the season, the Robert Morris women’s basketball team came up short against the Musketeers of Xavier University, losing, 70-65 Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati, Ohio.

All looked well early for the Colonials, starting 6-0f-7 from the field to open up a 20-14 lead. Junior guard Ashley Ravelli’s 4-for-4 start from the field helped RMU take a 33-26 advantage into the locker room.

Despite holding a 53-42 advantage with 9:38 left to play in the second half, the Colonials were unable to capitalize for a win over a power conference team.

RMU shot 27-of-64 from the field, good for 42.2 percent overall and 35.3 percent from three-point range. Both categories were very similar to that of the host Musketeers.

The difference came at the free throw line, where Xavier made 16-25 attempts. The Colonials were a below average 5-11, highlighting what has been a very serious problem early in the season for the team

Sophomore Anna Niki Stamolamprou led the Colonials in scoring again with 20 points. Ravelli finished with 12 and sophomore point guard Janee Brown stepped up and chipped in nine.

The Colonials will now travel back to Moon Township for their home opener on Dec. 3 against Hofstra. This will begin a stretch that features three of the team’s next four games at home in the Charles L. Sewell Center.