Turnovers were the name of this Northeast Conference game Saturday afternoon, as the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team lost to first-place Robert Morris 61-57. The team turned the ball 28 times, including 16 within the first 20 minutes of the game.

“We felt that we could play with them,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “This is a team that likes to move up and down the floor and we know that our turnovers were what killed us. We had a spark in the second half and I wish that one three-point field goal went down to give us the lead, but it didn’t and they controlled the play at the end the game.”

However, despite the first-half mistakes, the Bobcats only trailed by four at halftime, 33-29, thanks in large point to juniors Courtney Kaminski and Lailah Pratt. Kaminski scored a game-high 15 points, 11 of them within the first half, and Pratt finished with eight.

Robert Morris started the second half on a 6-2 run, and at one point, led by 11 points, but the Bobcats mounted a comeback and tied the game 54-54 with 3:20 remaining.

That was the last time Quinnipiac tied, though, as Robert Morris retook the lead, and then sealed the deal with a 3-pointer and two free throws. Freshman guard Lisa Lebak, hit a 25-foot three pointer as time expired, to cut the Colonials win margin to four points. Lebak also had 11 points and a team-high four assists.

The Colonials’ win clinched them their first NEC regular-season championship, with a 15-1 conference record and 20-7 overall. Quinnipiac fell to 5-11 in the NEC, and 10-17 overall.

The Bobcats play their final home game of the regular season this Thursday against Monmouth, which they defeated 60-54, back on Jan. 2.