Click here to view boxscore
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Nikki Presto scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds Friday night to lead The Rock (4-3) to a 59-52 win over Pitt-Johnstown (2-4) in non-conference action in Morrow Field House.
Presto also had a team-high four assists and three steals as The Rock ended a two-game losing streak and avenged a season-opening 61-57 loss to UP-J.
Amanda Nero matched Presto's scoring total with 15 points and had three assists, while
Julie Molloy added 11 points and three steals and
KellyAnn Staudinger grabbed nine rebounds.
Kristin Irwin scored a game-high 21 points for UP-J, 17 of which came in the opening half, when she nailed five 3-point shots.
The Rock jumped out to an 8-0 lead to open the game and had a nine-point, 12-3, advantage after five and a half minutes of action.
Seven minutes later, the lead was gone and UP-J held a 21-19 lead, primarily due to four 3-point bombs by Irwin.
The Rock tied the score at 21-21 before UP-J pulled out to a seven-point, 31-24, advantage at halftime.
Turning up the defensive intensity and contesting every shot Irwin shot in the second half, The Rock climbed back in the game.
A 13-5 Rock run in the first five and a half minutes of the second half propelled SRU back in front by a 37-36 edge, but UP-J responded with a 12-3 run of its own to take a 48-40 lead with 9:15 left to play.
SRU came right back with an 11-0 run in the next three-plus minutes to take a 51-45 lead with 5:45 left to play and never trailed thereafter.
The Rock is idle until Dec. 18, when it will visit Kutztown for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference "crossover" game. That will be the first of five straight road games SRU will play before returning home to host Cheyney in a "crossover" game Jan. 6.