RMU Women’s Basketball: Showdown For First Place In NEC On Senior Day
By Larry Snyder
After playing 28 regular-season games, it has come down to a Showdown On Senior Day at the Charles L. Sewall Center at 7 p.m. Monday.
No. 1 in the Northeast Conference is up for grabs as Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary’s get together in women’s basketball action.
The Colonials are 17-11 overall and 13-4 in the NEC while the visiting Mountaineers are 18-11 overall and also 13-4 in the NEC. The winner of tonight’s contest will earn home-court advantage in the upcoming NEC Tournament.
The last time these two met, Robert Morris won 67-60 at The Mount on Feb. 1.
While RMU and The Mount will be the top two seeds in the NEC tournament, the other spot that is locked up is the No. 8 slot by LIU Brooklyn. Still vying for the other positions are Bryant, Saint Francis, Sacred Heart, Wagner and Saint Francis-Brooklyn. All of these teams will be in the playoffs, but the seeding will be determined after games played today across the league.
The trio of seniors celebrated at the Chuck this evening for their careers as Colonials are Britta Emberg, Kelly Hartwell and Artemis Spanou.
The Colonials boast a 59-2 record when Emberg sees the floor. The 6-foot-1 forward from Cowensville, Pa., has 45 rebounds, 49 points and 11 steals in those contests.
Hartwell put up a career-best 24 points at DeGol Arena this past Saturday against the Red Flash of Saint Francis. The 5-10 forward from Woodbridge, Va., went 8 of 14, pulled down six rebounds and grabbed three steals while playing 22 minutes off the bench. She has 563 career points.
A 6-2 forward from Rhodes, Greece, Spanou is the reigning NEC Player of the Year, and is one of just seven players in NCAA Division I history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 blocks in a career. Breaking all school records, male or female, she became the all-time leading scorer for Robert Morris on Feb. 22 when she passed 1,970 career points on the road against Bryant.
Robert Morris will host the NEC quarterfinals on Sunday, March 9, and the semifinals on Wednesday, March 12.
Larry is a staff writer for City of Champions. Follow him on Twitter.