Women's Basketball Handed 66-62 Loss by Robert Morris

(boxscore)

1/8/05 -- Sophomore Kelli Sawyer (Philadelphia, Pa.) and senior Ravin Chase (Baltimore, Md.) each recorded a double-double as Long Island’s second-half rally fell short in a 66-62 Northeast Conference setback to Robert Morris at Schwartz Center.

Sophomore Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) scored eight points during a 22-9 spurt over eight minutes as LIU (5-7, 1-2 NEC) closed to 60-57 with 2:08 left. Senior Polona Oberc (Ljubljana, Slovenia) capped the run by stealing a pass from Sugiery Monsac in the backcourt and laying it in.

La’Sheala Dawson missed a shot for the Colonials (8-4, 3-0) as did Sawyer for the Blackbirds before Monsac redeemed herself. She received a pass in the lane from DeSheyna Perry and nailed a 10-foot jumper with 43 seconds left for a 62-57 RMU lead.

Sawyer hit 1-of-2 from the line with 32 seconds left before Dawson made two with 27 seconds remaining to give the Colonials a 64-58 lead, snapping their seven-game skid both overall and on the road against the Blackbirds.

Sawyer closed with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting with 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. Chase finished with 10 points and a season-best 10 rebounds for her fifth career double-double. Oblak poured in 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and is averaging 15.0 points over her last nine contests.

LIU owned a 41-37 rebounding edge, but could not overcome shooting just 57 percent (13-of-23) from the line, including 53 percent (8-of-15) in the second half.

Monsac poured in 22 points and added 12 rebounds for Robert Morris, which shot 40 percent (23-of-57) from the field. Dawson scored 18 points and Tess Cooley contributed 14 and 11 rebounds.

LIU closes its three-game homestand Monday against Wagner to open a doubleheader with the men’s squad between the same schools. Tip-off is at 5:00 pm.