New/Sortable Box Score |
Traditional Box Score
EDINBORO, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team had national power Edinboro on the ropes for much of the game before the Fighting Scots pulled away down the stretch to score a 72-59 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action Saturday afternoon.
Edinboro, the two-time defending PSAC champion, has lost just nine games dating back to the beginning of the 2010-11 season. The Fighting Scots are a near lock to move into the national rankings next week having defeated No. 6 Gannon and No. 19 Indiana (Pa.) in the last two weeks. Saturday's win was the fifth in a row for Edinboro, which improves to 14-3 overall and 11-2 in PSAC games.
The loss in the fourth in a row for Slippery Rock, which saw its season records drop to 4-13 overall and 3-10 in league action.
The Rock held the lead for stretches of the first 30 minutes of play Saturday in a game that featured 10 ties and remained close until the final 10 minutes. Edinboro trailed 46-44 with 11:16 to play and tied it for the 10th time at 46-46 with 10:41 to play. The Scots used that bucket to ignite a 21-5 run to pull ahead 65-51 with 3:30 to play, putting the game out of reach.
Slippery Rock placed three players in double figures, led by
Erinne Cunningham with 16 points and three assists.
Simone Aladenoye scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds and
Alexas Brown chipped in 12 points and five rebounds.
The Rock connected on 23-of-62 attempts from the field for a 37.1 percent shooting efficiency, including 4-of-14 from beyond the 3-point line (28.6 percent) and was 9-of-15 at the free throw line (60 percent).
Edinboro was paced by two of the top-three scorers in the PSAC with 20 points each from Samantha Blazetic and Kiara Brown.
The Fighting Scots shot 39.4 percent from the field (26-of-66), 16.7 percent from long range (3-of-18) and 68 percent from the free throw line (17-of-25). The hosts managed a 45-41 advantage in total rebounds.
The teams traded baskets from the opening tip until the game was tied at 17-17 just past midway through the period. Edinboro went on a slim, 5-0 run, to lead 22-17 but Slippery Rock answered with a 4-0 run to make it 22-21 with 5:44 to play. Again, the teams traded baskets the rest of the way with Edinboro taking a 28-27 advantage into the break.
Slippery Rock jumped out to a 34-30 lead early in the second half and remained out front at 46-44 with 11:16 to play before Edinboro put together its 21-5 run to pull away. The Fighting Scots closed the final 11 minutes with a 28-13 run.
Two games remain in the opening round of divisional play in the PSAC. Slippery Rock will host Gannon Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and will travel to Indiana next Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. game. The Rock will open the second round of divisional play Feb. 6 when Clarion visits Morrow Field House.
