The Slippery Rock University women’s basketball team concluded their 2016-17 season with a game at the University of Pittsburgh (Johnstown) on Saturday. The Rock, having not won a game since Jan. 21, went on to lose in an upset to Pitt-Johnstown with a final score of 76-74. Slippery Rock finishes the season with an overall record of 9-19 (6-16 conference record) and in eighth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West conference. Pitt-Johnstown finishes their season at 8-20 overall (4-18) and in last place in the PSAC West.
The Rock trailed 41-30 going into the third quarter, but a 27-point third quarter helped the women take a 57-56 lead going into the final quarter of play. A layup with less than a minute left in the game by junior Mallory Heinle tied the game 74-74. In the final five seconds of regulation, Pitt-Johnstown’s Laurel O’Barto passed the ball to Victoria Moreland who then connected on a jump-shot to give the Mountain Cats a 76-74 lead, thus handing the defeat to Slippery Rock.
Sophomore forward Morgan Henderson scored a career-high 19 points and also grabbed nine rebounds and forced two turnovers. Henderson finishes the 2016-17 season with 181 points, averaging 6.7 per game, 155 rebounds, and a team-high 14 blocks.
Freshman Brooke Hinderliter, who was scoreless in the first half of play, tallied 17 points and one assist while forcing six turnovers. Hinderliter completes her rookie season as the team’s second leading scorer (behind senior Lexi Carpenter’s 382) with 279 points in 682 minutes played. She also finishes with a .797 (106-133) free-throw percentage.
Heinle and junior C.C. Dixon combined for 24 points, 12 rebounds and an assist. Heinle finishes the season as the Green and White’s leading rebounder with 159 on the campaign. She also tallied a total of 212 points and forced 28 steals. Dixon ends 2016-17 as the the team’s third leading scorer with 242 and boasts a .353 (6-17) three-point field goal percentage, second behind Carpenter’s .397.
With the Green and White’s season at a conclusion, 12 teams look for the chance to bring home a PSAC championship. The first round of the playoffs is scheduled to begin on Monday, Feb. 27.
