Heading into an away matchup against rival Slippery Rock, the Indiana (Pa.) women’s basketball team had won 10 straight games en route to a top 10 ranking.
After the Wednesday, Jan. 6 contest at Morrow Field House, that number stretched to 11. And it was a night that Slippery Rock could get nothing going on the court.
In a season with numerous close encounters, albeit skewing toward losses more often than wins, No. 8 Indiana gave Slippery Rock its first blowout loss of the season, 81-39.
Trailing 24-6 after the first quarter, Slippery Rock (3-11, 1-7 PSAC) was unable to mount a challenge to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference leaders throughout the rest of the game.
Indiana (13-1, 8-0 PSAC) controlled almost every aspect of the game, including field goal percentage (43% to 25%), three-point percentage (48% to 16%) and free throw percentage (67% to 50%).
With Slippery Rock unable to get much consistency in the offensive end of the court, Indiana converted nearly one-third of its shots as three-pointers.
Indiana outrebounded Slippery Rock by nearly 20 boards and led in fast break points, points off turnovers, bench points and second-chance points.
The all around dominance led to the Crimson Hawks leading by 30 plus points consistently in the second half and the eventual 42 point victory.
Leaders
SRU: Senior guard Brooke Hinderliter moved into fifth place in Slippery Rock’s all-time leading scoring. Her 13 points marked her as the only Rock player in double-digit scoring.
Junior guard Brittany Andrews and senior forward LeeAnn Gibson both chipped in five points.
IUP: Natalie Meyers led the way for Indiana, scoring a game-high 18 points on six of 10 shooting. Lexie Griggs chipped in 15 points and Courtney Alexander hit five three-pointers to add 15 points of her own.
Seven players scored seven or more points for the Crimson Hawks.
Big Picture
SRU: Slippery Rock dropped the ninth in its last 10 games to fall to 3-11 this season and 1-7 in the conference.
With Seton Hill looming on the schedule, the road will not get any easier for SRU as it attempts to climb back into the playoff picture from the PSAC-West’s basement.
IUP: Indiana picked up its 11th straight win to improve to 13-1 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in the conference.
As the No. 8 team in the country and the only unbeaten team in the PSAC-West, Indiana is in prime position to win the West for the third straight year.
Up Next
Slippery Rock will be back in action on the road against Seton Hill Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Greensburg, Pa.
