SRU (5-18, 2-11 PSAC) earned their fifth win of the season Wednesday night 70-63 against the Lakers of Mercyhurst University (6-16, 4-8 PSAC).
The game was the second meeting of the season for the two green teams in the PSAC. The Lakers defeated the Rock in January, 75-82.
“Winning always gives you an adrenaline rush, it certainly did that for our team and coaching staff,” SRU head coach Tanya Longo said.
The game was never out of reach for either team but thanks to a strong defensive effort as well as Slippery Rock’s second best shooting performance of the year the Lakers were unable to secure the win on their home turf.
Mercyhurst was able to reduce SRU’s lead to only four points, a two-possession game.
The Rock took notice and thanks to excellent free throw shooting by sophomore Rebecca Olkosky, SRU was able to walk away with a victory.
“She did a great job managing the game for us, including those free throws,” coach Longo said. “Despite our record, the team is focused on what we are doing and getting better.”
The Green and White shot 54.3 percent (25 0f 46) from the field on Wednesday night, giving them their second best shooting performance from the field. Out of the 70 points scored, 32 came from in the paint. From the free throw line SRU finished 66.7 percent (16 of 24).
Slippery Rock was led by junior D’Asia Chambers with her ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Senior
Jazmyne Frost had her 16th double-digit performance of the season, also scoring 18 points.
“She (Chambers) isn’t just an interior player. She is far more versatile than people give her credit for,” coach Longo said.
The Chambers-Frost duo earned over half of SRU’s final score.
Sophomore Megan Hardiman tallied 10 points, Olkosky chipped in nine in the winning effort.
Mercyhurst did not fare as well putting the ball in the basket as SRU did, shooting a 38.5 percent (25 of 65) from the field and a 64.3 percent (9 of 14) from the free throw line.
Freshman Katie Fischer led the way for Mercyhurst with a game-high 21 points.
Senior Alayna White added 14 and redshirt-Sophomore Kelly McBroom scored eight.
The Lakers leading scorer this season, sophomore Adrienne Kloecker, was shut down by the SRU defense, scoring only two points off of free throws during the entire game.
Slippery Rock takes the weekend off and will welcome the Fighting Scots of Edinboro University (17-5, 11-1 PSAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. The Fighting Scots currently sit atop the PSAC-West.
“We are going to take this time to mentally and physically have a break” coach Longo said. “Taking care of the basketball, and defending will be the keys for us (against Edinboro).”
