MOON TOWNSHIP, PA- Cold shooting and a pair of five-point quarters were too much to overcome for the Flash in a 57-43 setback at Robert Morris on Monday night.

With the defeat, the Red Flash are the four-seed in the upcoming NEC tournament, hosting Central Connecticut on Sunday.

Robert Morris started quick, hitting on their first four possessions to lead 9-1 early. The Flash started ice-cold from the field, shooting 1-15 (6.7%) in the first quarter and were held without a field goal for the first five minutes. A Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) three hot the offense going, but it would be a 22-5 Robert Morris lead after the first quarter.

"We didn't shoot the ball well today, that makes it really tough, " head coach Joe Haigh said. "We did a good job defensively today, holding them to 57 points, and I liked the effort but we couldn't get the offense going."

Saint Francis started to chip away at the Robert Morris lead in the second quarter. Cydney Smith (Port Tobacco, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) grabbed an offensive rebound and her put back resulted in a three-point play bringing the deficit down to 14. SFU would get it to as few as 13 in the quarter, as the defense held RMU to just 14 points. But the offense again went stagnant, scoring just five points over the final five minutes of the quarter, RMU led 36-20 at the half.

The Flash defense held Robert Morris to just five points over the first five minutes of the third and a Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) three got the Flash to within 11 at 41-30, the closest they had been since the first quarter. But again, a three minute scoring drought hit as the Flash could not draw any closer, a pair of late Kovatch jumpers brought the RMU lead down to 10 at 48-38 at the end of the third.

Both teams went scoreless for the first four minutes of the fourth as the clock quickly became an additional opponent. Saint Francis drought carried well into the fourth, Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) finally broke the streak with an and-one put back at the 1:50 mark of the quarter. Adams scored all five of the team's points in the quarter. Robert Morris played keep away for the rest of the quarter to seal the victory.

The Flash out rebounded Robert Morris 41-35, led by Cydney Smith (Port Tobacco, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) and Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md./Western (Hampton U)) who each had seven. Robert Morris forced 21 Flash turnovers compared to just 14 for the Colonials. RMU turned the miscues into 19 points and out scored the Flash 28-14 in the paint. Anna Niki Stamolamprou led all scorers with 16 while Kovatch led the Flash with 11.

The loss drops the Flash to 13-16 overall and 11-7 in the NEC. Robert Morris moved to 17-12 overall and 11-7 in the NEC. Robert Morris will host Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday in the NEC tournament in the 3/6 matchup while the Flash will host Central Connecticut in the 4/5 game. The tournament starts on Sunday, game times are not yet determined.