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ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team opened up a 10-point lead late in the game and Rebecca Olkosky knocked down six free throws in the final minute as The Rock held off Mercyhurst University for a 70-63 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action Wednesday night.

Slippery Rock led by 10 points, 60-50, with five minutes to play but went more than three minutes without a field goal to close the game until D'Asia Chambers finished it off with a steal and a layup with 19 seconds left. The points that kept The Rock out front all belonged to Olkosky, who knocked down 6-of-8 free throws to seal the win.

Wednesday's win improves Slippery Rock to 5-18 overall and 2-11 in PSAC-West games this year, while Mercyhurst drops to 6-16 overall and 4-8 in divisional play.

The Rock put together their second best shooting performance of the season in the victory, connecting on 54.3 percent of their shots from the field (25-of-46). The season-high is slightly better at 55.1 percent in a win at Lourdes. The 46 field goal attempts from Slippery Rock was also a season-low.

Chambers was outstanding in recording a double-double to lead the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She teamed up with Jazmyne Frost, who also finished with 18 points, to provide an inside threat Mercyhurst couldn't stop.

Megan Hardiman finished with 10 points, while Olkosky finished with nine points and Erica Aiello added six points and four assists.

The Rock was 28.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line (4-of-14), but didn't need the long ball thanks to 32 points in the paint. More importantly, Slippery Rock finished 66.7 percent at the free throw line, hitting 16-of-24 attempts.

Mercyhurst was led by Katie Fischer with a game-high 21 points. Alayna White chipped in 14 points and Kelly McBroom added eight points.

Slippery Rock's stout defense frustrated the Lakers' leading scorer, Adrienne Kloecker, all night long. She entered the game averaging more than 16 points per game and did not convert a single field goal (0-for-7), finishing the night with two points on two made free throws.

The game was close throughout most of the first 30 minutes, with Slippery Rock leading by just one, 34-33 at halftime, and the teams trading short spurts for most of the opening part of the second half.

The game was tied for the last time at 48-48 with 9:10 to play when Slippery Rock jumped away with a 12-2 run to open up a 60-50 lead with 5:01 to play.

Mercyhurst slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to four points on three occasions inside the final minute, but clutch free throw shooting from Olkosky and the dagger takeaway and finish from Chambers sealed the win.

Slippery Rock has three games remaining on the regular season schedule, with two at home and one on the road. The Rock are off this weekend and return to action Feb. 19 when they host Edinboro at 6 p.m. at Morrow Field House.