In its outing against Millersville, the Slippery Rock women’s basketball built up an early double digit lead and saw it dwindle down until it was gone. However, SRU escaped with a win.
Against Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday, Slippery Rock built an early lead, but this time, UPJ was able to come back and steal a 77-67 win at the Morrow Field House.
A 16-4 opening run from Slippery Rock (4-13, 2-9 PSAC), fueled by eight points from junior guard Daeja Quick, was quickly countered by a 16-3 run from Pitt-Johnstown (10-7, 5-6 PSAC) to take a 20-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Slippery Rock and Pitt-Johnstown traded baskets throughout the second and third quarters, with SRU outscoring UPJ, 16-14, in the second, and UPJ outscoring SRU, 17-13, in the third quarter.
Leading by three to begin the fourth quarter, Pitt-Johnstown steadily built a lead throughout the quarter and coasted to a 10 point victory.
In a trend that has plagued Slippery Rock all season, Pitt-Johnstown dominated secondary scoring with a 19-3.
Despite holding Pitt-Johnstown to 41% shooting and just 29% from 3-point range, UPJ’s depth proved insurmountable.
Leaders
SRU: All five starters scored in double digits for Slippery Rock, led by double doubles from senior forwards Karington Ketterer and LeeAnn Gibson.
Senior guards Brooke Hinderliter and Madison Johnson scored 14 points each, and junior guard Daeja Quick put in an all-around effort of 11 points, five rebounds and five steals.
Freshman forward Anyah Curd scored the only bench points of the game for SRU.
UPJ: Gabrielle Smith led Pitt-Johnstown in scoring with 20 points, and Olivia Fasick chipped in 18 points of her own.
Big Picture
SRU: Slippery Rock falls to 4-13 on the season and 2-9 in the conference with the divisional loss.
With 13 losses now, Slippery Rock is only three away from matching last season’s total of 16. With 11 games remaining, all Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference games, SRU will have its work cut out to challenge for a playoff spot.
UPJ: With the win, Pitt-Johnstown improves to 10-7 on the season and 5-6 in the conference.
Holding the sixth seed in the PSAC-West, UPJ holds a one game over Mercyhurst for the final playoff spot. Despite a sizeable 10-7 to 4-13 overall record gap.
Up Next
Slippery Rock travels to Mercyhurst for another big PSAC-West contest between the No. 7 and 8 seeds in the division on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Erie, Pa.
