MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Feb, 14, 2011) – A lopsided first half gave way to a wild second as Saint Francis University stormed back from 17 points down to clinch an improbable, 81-73, victory over Robert Morris at the Sewall Center on Monday night.

To say Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) was a huge part of the comeback and eventual win would, in this instance, be a gross understatement.

The Northeast Conference Player of the Year candidate single-handedly outscored the Colonials in the second half, pouring in 35 of her career-high 36 points. Robert Morris scored 33 in the period.

Leach's output also ties for 10th all-time in the school record books for points in a game.

“Sam really attacked and just came out with a great mentality in the second half,” said head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl, whose team manages a season sweep of the Colonials for the first time since the 2003-04 season. “It was contagious. She's definitely fun to watch.”

Down by 15 at the half, a jumper by RMU's Artemis Spanou nine seconds into the second half gave the Colonials their largest lead of the game, 42-25. On the ropes, the Flash began to turn the tables.

A 22-to-4 run spanning just over five minutes gave Saint Francis its first lead since the 15:43 mark of the first half, 47-41. Leach scored 15 points during the stretch including the lead-changing layup.

Robert Morris would rebound to build an edge as large as five points with under seven minutes to go and held the lead until Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) knotted up the score at 71-all at the 3:15 mark.

After a stop, a Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) jumper gave the Flash an advantage they would not relinquish.

“When we play defense we, obviously, can be pretty good,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “Robert Morris was hot in the first half. They came out and did a great job but we have a lot of weapons. We just came out in the second half and played with no fear.”

The outcome of the game remained in question until the waning seconds, but a pair of technicals on the Robert Morris bench gave Leach an opportunity add some window dressing. The senior captain sank all four free throws to set the final score.

Robert Morris set the pace early, hitting six 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of play to open up a 22-12 lead. The Flash led 10-8 at the 15:43 mark but scored only two points over the next six minutes as the Colonials jumped out to a 12-point advantage.

An Alexandra Williams layup at the 9:42 mark made the score 24-14, but the red-hot RMU offense continued to cruise from long-range to go into the locker room up, 40-25.

The Colonials shot 48.3 percent from the floor in the half, including a blistering 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from 3-point range. The Flash converted at a 29.4 percent (10-for-34) clip in the period and were 1-for-11 from long-range.

“In the first half, our problems were more on the defensive end and rebounding,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “The second half was all about coming out and matching their intensity but even kicking it up another notch. We thought if we could cut the lead to eight pretty quickly it'd be a new game.”

The Red Flash were outrebounded 26-to-17 in the opening period but ended up with 39 for the game, tying the Colonials.

Saint Francis shot 55.6 percent (20-for-36) in the second half compared to Robert Morris' rate of 44.8 percent (13-for-29). Lilley scored 14 points for SFU, while dishing out eight assists. Three SFU players scored nine points.

Mary Durojaye paced RMU with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Saint Francis (17-9; 12-2 NEC) resumes its current three-game road trip on Saturday when it visits Fairleigh Dickinson for a 4 p.m. contest. The magic number for the Red Flash to clinch homecourt advantage throughout the league playoffs now stands at two.