MOON – Pa. — On Wednesday night, Robert Morris’ women’s basketball team surrendered a tough loss to Saint Francis as Noa Givon’s game-tying three-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.
RMU forced four Saint Francis turnovers in the first few minutes of the game and capitalized early. The Colonials opened the scoring with an and-one finish off the hands of forward Danielle Vuletich. After Saint Francis opened the game cold, the Red Flash then hit two three pointers to cut into RMU’s early lead. Minutes later, Givon hit her first three pointer of the game to extend the Colonial lead to 14-7. However, the Colonials couldn’t hold down the Red Flash for long. Airah Lavy hit her second and third threes of the first quarter in the final minutes, earning her nine points in the frame and going into the second with the score 16-13.
In the second quarter, Lavy stayed hot for the Red Flash while Jada Lee, Jennica Suggs, and Raissa Nsabua got on the board for RMU. Isys Grady shined all over the floor for the Colonials as well. With an and-one finish in transition, SFU’s Julianna Gibson tied the game for the first time at 23 with 2:31 to play in the second. Gibson’s points were part of an 8-0 run from the Red Flash, taking the lead. RMU regained the lead with a late run to close out the half, which concluded on an isolation three pointer from Grady.
To begin the second half, Natalie Johnson — who previously played two seasons at RMU — scored on a layup. Minutes later, RMU’s Vuletich finished through contact once again and converted another and-one layup, extending RMU’s lead to 36-31. After more points from Grady and Naomi Barnwell paced Robert Morris, to close out the third quarter, RMU’s Micah O’Dell made a hook shot, building the Colonials’ lead to 46-41.
In the final quarter, the teams continued to battle. With Saint Francis leading late, Givon drained a three on the right wing, retaking the lead for the Colonials, 53-51. Then, Johnson, the former Colonial playing for Saint Francis, hit a layup for Saint Francis with just over one minute to play, giving Saint Francis a 55-53 advantage. Givon answered quickly, with a back-door cut and an ensuing layup, tying the game.
After RMU forced a miss on the next SFU possession, an offensive rebound quickly found its way out to Lavy, the Red Flash’s star shooter. With 26 seconds remaining, she confidently hit her fifth, and most important, three of the night.
On the other end, RMU looked to Nsabua for a three pointer at the top of the key. After she missed, there were nearly ten seconds left on the clock, and the Colonials grabbed a crucial offensive rebound. RMU passed the ball to Givon, who attempted the game-tying three with seconds to go, but the three bounced around the rim and out, giving the win to the Red Flash, 58-55.
Grady scored 15 points to lead the Colonials, while Givon had 12. RMU shot just 23% from three-point range in the loss. The Colonials forced 21 turnovers and only turned the ball over six times themselves, but could not overcome strong games from Lavy and company for the Red Flash.
The Colonials will now have a few days off until their next game, which will be played in Oakland against Tory Verdi’s Pitt squad on Saturday, Nov. 23.
