Woodard scores career-high as Trojans fall to Robert Morris
Greg Gorham
Box Score Box Score | Season Stats
DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Trinity International held a three-point halftime lead, but ultimately fell to the Robert Morris Eagles, 77-70, Saturday night in the Meyer Sports Complex. Leading all scorers, senior Clarissa Woodard posted a new career-high with 28 points on the night, going 12-of-21 from the field. The Kokomo, Ind. native also collected her fourth double-double of the year, pulling down ten rebounds in the loss.
The Trojans (3-9, 0-5 CCAC) overcame the slow starts that have plagued the offense in previous games, as TIU battled to an early 10-6 lead with six early points from Woodard. Both sides would trade the lead six times in the opening minutes of a back-and-forth first half, until a nine-point run midway through the half gave Robert Morris a 26-17 advantage. The Eagles (5-5, 2-3 CCAC) would stretch their lead to 11, their biggest lead of the night, with a Tikeyiah Johnson layup at the 4:58 mark of the first half.
Trinity would respond before the break, however, outscoring RMU 17-3 in the final five minutes, as the Trojans were able to break through Robert Morris' full-court press, taking advantage of fast-break opportunities to close the gap.
Woodard scored 18 of her 28 before intermission, while the team racked up 12 assists compared to RMU's four. TIU shot 41.7% (15-of-36) from the field in the first half, before setting in for a 40.6% (28-of-69) percentage on the night.
The second half opened with the Trojans maintaining a narrow lead, as Woodard knocked down a pair of free throws with 13:44 to play that gave TIU a five-point, 48-43 lead. The Eagles would score six unanswered to erase the deficit and claim a lead with under 13 minutes to play, but the forward would again answer on the offensive end, grabbing the offensive rebound and scoring the putback to give Trinity a 50-49 edge with 11:51 remaining.
Three free throws from RMU's Yolanda De La Torre on back-to-back possessions put the Eagles ahead for what would end up being for good, midway through the second half. A pair of layups from Bri'ana Rowland and Abigail Hemmeger would briefly tie the score, but the Trojans were unable to get back out in front. A 12-4 run from Robert Morris put the Eagles ahead by eight with 6:28 to play; the Trojans would cut the lead down to four points on Woodard's final bucket of the night, at the 3:28 mark, but RMU would close out the final minutes to secure the game.
Two other Trojans finished in double-figures on the night, with freshman Basha Ramsey collecting 15 points to match her career high, and senior Montanique Washington posted ten points and nine rebounds to nearly secure her second double-double of the year. Hemmeger collected nine assists to lead the offense, a career-high for the senior.
The Trojans will break for the next two weeks, before returning on Saturday, January 4, when they travel to face Indiana-Northwest in a non-conference matchup. Tipoff against the Redhawks from Gary, Ind. is set for 6:00 p.m.
