The Rock ended a six-game losing skid in resounding fashion Saturday afternoon as they blasted Bloomsburg, 81-51, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference “crossover” action in Morrow Field House.
In the process, the Green and White presented head coach Laurel Heilman with her 200th career victory. Heilman now owns a 200-206 career mark in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach (eight seasons at Allegheny College, eight seasons at SRU).
The win, SRU's first in six interdivisional games this winter, improved The Rock's season record to 5-9. Bloomsburg fell to 4-9.
SRU will have little time to enjoy the victory as it must return to the Field House hardwood for a 1 p.m. game Sunday vs. Mansfield.
Sophomore post player
Haley Gaidosh scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds for The Rock, while sophomore win
Julie Molloy scored 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Molloy was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Senior post
Nijha McNeely added 12 points and seven rebounds for SRU and junior guard
Amanda Nero recorded 11 points and eight assists.
Bloomsburg was led by All-PSAC-Eastern Division performer Colleen Kegerreis' 16 points.
The Rock shot a red-shot 58.5% (31 of 53) from the field, nailed 60% (6 of 10) of its shots from 3-point range and canned 59.1% (13 of 22) free throws.
SRU enjoyed a 36-24 rebounding advantage and forced Bloomsburg into 17 turnovers while committing 14 miscues.
Bloomsburg shot 35.5% (22 of 62) from the field, 77.8% (7 of 9) from the foul line and missed all 16 of its 3-point shot attempts.
The Rock trailed by a 10-4 margin after four minutes of action but then scored 14 unanswered points and 21 of the next 25 points to take command of the situation.
Molloy buried two 3-point shots and a jumpshot, grabbed two defensive rebounds and handed out an assist during the 14-point run, which propelled SRU to an 18-10 lead with 12:15 left in the first half.
Three minutes later, the cushion was 11 points, 25-14. The Rock took a 14-point, 38-24, advantage into intermission.
Molloy scored 11 first-half points, while Gaidosh had 10 points.
The Rock shot a red-hot 55.2% (16 of 29) from the floor and nailed 62.5% (5 of 8) from 3-point range in the first half. The Green and White also enjoyed an 18-10 rebounding advantage.
The halftime intermission did little to cool off The Rock, as the hosts extended their lead to 20 points (46-26) three minutes into the final half of action and held a 30-point (66-36) advantage with eight minutes left to play.
The Rock held its largest lead, a 34-point, 79-45 advantage, with three minutes left to play.
Notes:
Saturday's game marked the second time in the last three outings that The Rock scored 80 or more points. The Green and White also scored 81 points Jan. 3 in an overtime loss at Gannon … The 81-point outputs are the highest recorded by The Rock this winter ... Heilman now owns a 91-111 record as SRU's head coach, which ranks second on The Rock's career wins list behind Anne Griffiths (111-56 in nine seasons, 1971-79).
