MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team is tournament bound. The Blackbirds, who clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference tournament in February are headed to Moon Township, Pa., to take on the top-seeded Robert Morris Colonials (18-11, 14-4 NEC). LIU comes into the bracket as the No.8 seed, with a 9-20 overall record, 7-11 in NEC play.
 
The game, which will be played Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. in the Sewall Center, will be broadcast for fans for free, on www.necfrontrow.com.
 
It's the first appearance in the postseason tournament for LIU since 2011-12, when LIU, the No.6 seed fell in the first round to No.3 seeded-Monmouth, 68-56. 
 
Robert Morris has won both of the matchups between the two teams this season, but the Colonials now have the tough task of beating the same team three times in one year. RMU is led by back-to-back NEC Player of the Year Artemis Spanou, and clinched the regular season NEC championship title last Monday, beating Mount St. Mary's.
 
LIU comes into the matchup on a two-game losing skid. After winning back-to-back games against Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson to clinch a postseason berth, the Blackbirds have dropped two games on the road, to Sacred Heart (46-44) and St. Francis Brooklyn (66-50).
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
• The Colonials hold an all-time advantage, 39-16 against the Blackbirds. RMU has won the last five against LIU, and 13 of the last 14. Robert Morris is 22-6 against the Blackbirds at home.
 
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
• Robert Morris, who was voted the pre-season favorite to win the Northeast Conference, lived up to expectations, as RMU won the NEC regular season title this past Monday, with a 71-65 defeat of second-place Mount St. Mary's.
• The Colonials, who finished the season 18-11 overall and 14--4 in NEC play, earned the No.1 tournament seed with the win, clinching home court advantage throughout the tournament.
• Home court is exactly where RMU wants to be, as the team has won 11 games in a row at home, and is 109-30 (.784) at the Sewall Center since 2004-05, including 74-15 (,831) in NEC games.
• Robert Morris earned two of the top postseason awards giving out by the Northeast Conference. Senior forward Artemis Spanou was named the 2013-14 NEC Player of the Year, while head coach Sal Buscaglia was named the Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year. The Colonials also had two All-Rookie Team nods, as Anna Niki Stamolamprou and Cassie Oursler were both recognized for their strong freshman campaigns.
• Spanou has led RMU throughout the season, and spent her senior year breaking records. The Rhodes, Greece native now holds six RMU career records, two NEC career records, and three RMU single-game records. She became just one of seven players in NCAA history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 blocks this year.
• Spanou leads the team in both scoring and rebounds. She's averaging 19.2 points per game, along with 14.7 rebounds per game.
• Stamolamprou is next on the team in scoring, as the freshman guard averages 12.4 points per game.
 
ALL-NEC HONOREE
• Senior Cleandra Roberts earned the first Northeast Conference honors of her career this week, as she was named to the All-NEC First Team.
• She becomes the first Blackbird to earn a first-team nod since Ashley Palmer, in 2011-12.
• Roberts finished the regular season averaging 18.4 points per game, fourth in the NEC. She was also seventh in the NEC in rebounds per game, leading LIU with 7.4.