BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The Long Island University women's basketball team was unable to withstand a late surge by league-leading Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon, falling 70-59, at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

Sophomore Brandy Thomas led LIU with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Junior Jeydah Johnson added 10 points for the Sharks. Sophomore Ryan Weise distributed a career-high 11 assists and junior Mia Perkins grabbed 10 rebounds.

GAME BREAKDOWN

Robert Morris opened the contest with a 7-2 starting stretch. LIU was there to match with a 7-2 run of their own, led by five points from Thomas to tie the game at nine at the 3:28 mark. It was a back and fourth quarter from there with the Colonials holding a 17-16 lead.

After a layup for the Colonials opened the second quarter, the Sharks strung together a five-point stretch on three points from Weise and a layup from sophomore Kiara Bell to take a 21-19 lead at the 7:26 mark and forcing a RMU timeout. Both teams traded shots at the lead over the next minute before a four-point swing by LIU on layups from Bell and junior Paulani Tarawa pushed the lead to four, 28-24 with 5:16 to go. The Colonials slowly cut at the deficit eventually cutting it to one, 30-29 with 2:51 remaining in the half. LIU closed the quarter on a 5-2 stretch with Weise connecting from downtown in the final seconds to give the Sharks a 35-31 lead at the half.

LIU carried that momentum over to start the second half with a five-point opening stretch led by three points from Tarawa for a 40-31 lead at the 8:29 mark. RMU used a 7-1 stretch shortly after to cut the deficit to three, 41-38 just under the halfway point of the quarter. The Sharks answered with a five-point stretch by Johnson to push the lead back to eight, 46-38 with 3:54 left in the quarter. Robert Morris would make one more run in the third quarter, this time a 9-1 run to tie the game up at 47 with 1:34 to go. LIU held the brief lead shortly after on a layup by Thomas but the Colonials closed the quarter with three straight points to take a 50-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Colonials opened up the fourth quarter with a five-point stretch to jump ahead 55-49 with 8:00 remaining. LIU responded with back-to-back threes by Johnson and Thomas to tie the game at 55-55 with 6:55 to go. The rest of the final quarter belonged to Robert Morris, using a 15-4 closing stretch, to earn the 70-59 win in the lone contest between both teams this season.

SHARK BITES

• Thomas finished one point shy of tying her season high with her 24-point effort against the Colonials. She connected on a career-high four made three-pointers.
• Weise dished out a career-high 11 assists to go along with six points. She is the first LIU player to record double-digit assists since teammate Drew Winter recorded 12 assists on January, 13, 2018 against Wagner.
• Johnson picked up her 11th game scoring in double figures, finishing the day with 10 points.
• Perkins recorded her fifth double-digit rebounding effort with 10 boards on Saturday afternoon.
• LIU held the Colonials to a 22.2% clip from downtown (4-for-18) while shooting 43.8% (7-for-16) from long distance.
• Robert Morris held the slight advantage on the glass over the Sharks, 44-40.

UP NEXT

The Sharks host Saint Francis U on Monday, January 27 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at the Steinberg Wellness Center.