The Slippery Rock University women’s basketball team participated in their third consecutive non-conference game on Nov. 17 against the University of Charleston. The Rock led the contest 54-48 with 13 minutes remaining before the Golden Eagles began to score and pull away. The lead eventually became too big of a deficit for The Rock, dropping the contest 93-76.
The Rock was led by sophomore D’Asia Chambers with a 20 point and nine rebound performance, her second game this season with at least 20 points. Junior Alexas Brown had a game to remember with a career-high 16 points, eight assists and another career-high six steals. Sophomore Danielle Garoutte also had an impressive night, scoring a career high 12 points off the bench.
When asked about the team’s performance at Charleston, as well as the beginning of the season, Chambers has had nothing but a positive view on the team’s effort.
“We are all very competitive on the court, nobody ever wants to quit.” Chambers said. “We are still trying to get our flow together. We need to learn each other’s strengths and focus on those.”
With two crucial games this weekend, now is the time for the Rock ladies to utilize each other’s strengths and come out strong in the PSAC competition.
Tomorrow at 1 p.m., the Rock will have their first PSAC conference action against the nationally ranked Bloomsburg Huskies (3-1). The Huskies are ranked 25th in the USA Today Division II Coaches Poll. In addition, the Huskies are predicted to finish first in the PSAC-East from the 2012 PSAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll conducted in October. Last year the Huskies defeated the Rock 86-67. Playing against the Huskies is not going to be an easy task, but would be a great place to start a PSAC winning streak.
Head coach Tanya Longo, as well as the team, is not intimidated by the ranking that the Huskies currently hold.
“We kind of have a motto on our team: ‘Respect everyone, but fear no one’. We respect each team and how they are viewed, but each game in front of us is just as important as the next.” Longo said.
On Sunday, the Rock will participate in their second PSAC contest, this time against the Mansfield University Mountaineers (0-2). With the pre-season poll predicting a seventh place finish in the PSAC-East for the Mountaineers, they are still not a force to take lightly. Last season, the Rock dropped their game against the Mountaineers 66-88.
When asked about what needs to be focused on to get a few wins this weekend, Brown had a few suggestions.
“Our defense needs some work, we need to play defense as hard as we play on offense.” Brown said. “We need to keep playing hard for all 40 minutes and close out the game strong.”
