St. Francis (NY)-Robert Morris Women's NEC Basketball Tournament game story

Robert Morris women whip St. Francis (N.Y.)

By Denis Gorman
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 9, 2008

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- A sly smile creased Chinata Nesbit's face a split second before she razzed her coach.

"We should have started the game with it," she said, with a laugh, when asked about Robert Morris' press defense.

The press worked in the second half, as the Colonials pulled away for a 77-62 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) in Saturday's Northeast Conference Women's Tournament quarterfinal game at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center at Long Island.

The second-seeded Colonials led by just a point at intermission.

"You've got to put it in at the appropriate time," Robert Morris coach Sal Buscaglia said about the press. "You've got to pick your spots."

There was much for the Colonials to be pleased with:

• Prior to the game, there was the announcement of junior guard Sade Logan winning the conference's Women's Player of the Year award and making the All-NEC first team, along with Nesbit.

• There was Nesbit's second career triple-double. She finished with 24 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and 10 assists. Nobody had recorded a triple-double in the first 30 years of Robert Morris women's basketball. Nesbit has done it twice in a four-game span.

• There was Logan scoring a game-high 25 points.

• Making her sixth start of the season, reserve guard Angela Pace tied a career high with 17 rebounds and added 18 points.

• The Colonials' 17 assists and 14 points off turnovers made Buscaglia content.

The Colonials (21-9, 16-2 NEC) will play sixth-seeded Monmouth, which upset No. 3 seed Sacred Heart, 75-70 yesterday, in the second semifinal at 4:30 p.m. today. Quinnipiac and Long Island will play in the first game.

Robert Morris won both games against Monmouth this season, while splitting the series against Sacred Heart. The third meeting of the season between the Colonials and the Lady Terriers (10-20; 7-11 NEC) was a back-and-forth affair.

Logan, Pace, Nesbit and Kendra Williams were the lynchpins of a 17-2 run in a 5:51 span of the first half, and the Colonials had a 23-9 advantage.

Defensively, the quartet pressured St. Francis' ball handlers, forcing turnovers which led to fastbreak baskets. When the Lady Terriers were able to bring the ball past half court, Logan and Williams forced St. Francis into taking hurried shots.

St. Francis finished the final eight minutes of the first half by outscoring Robert Morris, 23-10. At the half, Robert Morris held just a 33-32 lead.

"There are peaks and valleys. Basketball is a game of runs," Buscaglia said. "It's the team that can come back from the other team's run that is successful. ... We always talk about the start of the second half as one of the key parts of any basketball game."

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