The Slippery Rock women’s basketball team lost on the road in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game on the road to California University (Pa.) by a score of 76-59 on Saturday afternoon.
The loss drops Slippery Rock to 5-16 overall and 3-12 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Vulcans improve to 15-6 overall and 9-6 in the PSAC.
After a slow start which saw Slippery Rock score one point in the first five minutes of the game, The Rock offense exploded to score 15 points to close out the first quarter. After ten minutes of play, SRU led the Vulcans by a score of 16-10.
The Green and White picked up where they left off to begin the second quarter, extending their lead to as a big as 21-12, courtesy of a three-point shot from redshirt junior guard Kasch Harris.
After a Vulcan timeout, California responded by going on an 8-0 run that spanned over five minutes in the second quarter, cutting The Rock’s lead was cut down to 21-20. Redshirt senior guard Madison Johnson put an end to California’s run with a jumper with 2:46 remaining in the quarter, but the teams would both go on to trade blows for the remainder of the half, resulting in a 29-29 stalemate at halftime.
The third quarter would prove to be as tightly contested as the previous one, as both teams struggled to find an edge over the other. Senior guard Brooke Hinderliter made her presence known in the third quarter, scoring eight of her 14 total points to keep pace with the Vulcan offense.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Vulcans clung on to a 50-49 advantage.
After a tightly contested opening 30 minutes of the game, it was California who was able to pull away in the final quarter, going on a 23-4 run in route to clinching a 17-point home win.
Despite the loss, three of five Slippery Rock starters scored in double figures. Junior guard Daeja Quick led the team with 17 points, followed up by Johnson’s 15 points, and 14 points from Hinderliter.
The Rock held Cal U to a 32.9 percent (25-76) field goal percentage, but were outrebounded 48-43, while allowing 17 points off 15 SRU turnovers.
Despite shooting 40 percent (24-60) from the field, The Rock struggled from the free throw line, converting on nine of 21 attempts (.429).
Slippery Rock returns home Wednesday to the Morrow Field House to face off against Clarion, tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
