As most Slippery Rock students headed home for a much-needed Thanksgiving break this past week, the women’s basketball team boarded the bus for a difficult road trip in Ohio. The Rock eked out a two-point win on Saturday, but, unfortunately, the win was bookended by decisive losses on Wednesday and Sunday.
Although the team scored its highest total of the young season against Walsh University, it fell behind early and was unable to recover. The Cavaliers held a sizable lead for the game’s entirety, stretching it to as many as 27 in the second half, and SRU couldn’t come within less than 15 in the game’s final 20 minutes. The hosts benefited from 22 second-chance points off of 20 offensive boards, sending the Rock away by the score of 93-73.
Sophomore guard Daeja Quick, a transfer from the University of the District of Columbia, proved to be the loss’s bright spot. The 2017-18 East Coast Conference Freshman of the Year jumped off the bench to pour in a team-leading 23 points along with six assists and five rebounds. Her six steals in the game tied the eighth-most in a game in the program’s history.
The performance earned Quick a start in the team’s next game as it spent the weekend at Ashland University for its Thanksgiving Classic. In that neutral site clash against Wayne State University (WSU), the Green and White fought from eight down late in the fourth period to steal a victory from the Warriors.
Along with fellow guards Brooke Hinderliter and Ciara Patterson, a junior and redshirt senior, respectively, Quick aided in conducting an 11-point run in a span of less than two minutes. After claiming the advantage with 10 ticks on the clock, Slippery Rock fouled WSU’s shooters, not allowing them an opportunity to put up a game-tying three.
With a season-best 21 points, it was Hinderliter who led the team in scoring for the fourth time in five games. She shot 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Three other Rock players scored in double digits, as Quick dropped a baker’s dozen and Patterson and Madison Johnson each notched eleven points.
The afternoon after the 65-63 triumph, the team was faced with a daunting opponent in No. 2 Ashland, winner of 75 of its last 76 games. In shooting 54 percent from the field and connecting on 17 of 35 three-point attempts, the Eagles easily dispatched Slippery Rock, extending its home win streak to 42.
Hinderliter and Patterson, who have been two of the Rock’s signature scorers thus far, paced the scoring for their team, scoring 18 and 13, respectively. Contributing off of the bench in the 118-62 defeat were freshman Marissa Hopson (9 points) and sophomore Brittany Andrews (5 points).
Now 2-4, the women will now get a week off from gameplay before opening Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play at East Stroudsburg University on Dec. 3.
