Boxscore
ERIE, Pa.- Senior guard Chere' Marshall hit a jumper with three seconds left in the game to life the Slippery Rock University women's basketball team past hosting Mercyhurst, 54-53, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action.
Marshall's game-winning shot accounted for the final two of a string of seven points she scored in the final 60 seconds of action for The Rock, who snapped a two-game losing streak and improved their overall record to 5-16 and their PSAC-West mark to 2-6.
Marshall finished the game with a team-high 13 points and two blocked shots. Senior guard
Julie Molloy and junior guard
Grace Palucis each scored 12 points. Molloy also led The Rock with eight rebounds, while Palucis handed out five assists.
Mercyhurst (12-8 overall, 4-4 PSAC-West) was led by Samantha Loadman's "double-double" of 12 points and 15 rebounds. Amy Achesinski scored 17 points and Nikki Frederickson scored 11 points.
The Rock led for most of the first half, holding the lead after the 10:55 mark when senior guard
Nikki Presto hit a 3-pointer to give The Rock a 15-12 lead.
SRU held a 28-20 lead going in to halftime after it shot 43% (12-28) from the floor and 50% (2-4) from behind the arc.
The Lakers started the second half with a 13-4 run in the first four minutes.
Marshall hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to cut the Mercyhurst lead to one point, 53-52. After an SRU timeout, the Lakers turned the ball over with 15 seconds left in the game.
That set the stage for Marshall's game-winning shot.
The Rock finished the game shooting 45% (24-53) and only attempted four foul shots in the game (2-4) SRU forced more steals (7-1) and both teams connected for four 3-pointers.
The Lakers shot 36% (19-53) from the floor and 73% (11-15) from the foul line.
The Rock looks to continue its winning ways Wednesday night when it travels back to Erie to challenge the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, Gannon University, in the Hammermill Center.