Traditional Box Score
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team cut a 22-point Pitt-Johnstown lead down to just four, but couldn't quite complete the comeback in a 71-65 loss Saturday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division play at Morrow Field House.
 
Slippery Rock (1-2, 0-2 PSAC-West) trailed 63-41 with 8:47 to play before fighting back and going on an impressive 20-2 run to trim the Pitt-Johnstown (3-1, 2-0 PSAC-West) advantage to just 65-61 with two minutes remaining in regulation.
 
SRU was relentless on defense over the run, forcing four Pitt-Johnstown turnovers and holding the Mountain Cats to a .090 (1-for-11) field goal percentage. Offensively, D'Asia Chambers came alive to score nine points over the stretch while Erica Aiello maintained her steady play with six points. Slippery Rock also took advantage of several trips to the charity stripe during the spurt, knocking down 10 of its 12 free throw attempts.
 
However, The Rock was unable to finish off the comeback bid as Pitt-Johnstown narrowly held on to its lead in the game's waning moments by going 4-for-6 from the foul line to stave off a charging Slippery Rock team and escape with the six-point win.
 
Aiello had her finest scoring night to date in a Rock uniform with a career-high 21 points off of three three-pointers and a 9-for-14 shooting effort from the field overall.
 
Chambers tallied her third double-double of the season and just missed out on a triple-double after recording 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in addition to four steals and two blocks. Her 13 rebounds gives her 505 for her career, the 12th most in SRU history.
 
Junior guard Taylor Siggers was The Rock's third double-digit scorer at 11 points. Senior forward Danielle Garroutte chipped in two blocks and eight points on an efficient 4-for-6 shooting performance.
 
Rounding out Slippery Rock's top performers was the duo of Mallory Heinle and Megan Hardiman; both players pulled down five rebounds.
 
For the game, Slippery Rock forced 20 UPJ turnovers. The Rock also held advantages against Pitt-Johnstown in points in the paint (38-20) and fast break points (10-4).
 
Pitt-Johnstown earned the victory from the three-point line where the Mountain Cats converted 12 of their 32 attempts on the night. Kayla DeCriscio hit seven three points of her own on the way to a 23-point outing to pace UPJ.
 
Slippery Rock is off Sunday before returning to action on Monday at 6 p.m. when it hosts Penn State Allegheny in the second of its season-long seven-game homestand.