Traditional Box Score GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start in which Seton Hill scored the game's first 14 points in a 69-55 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division loss Wednesday night at the McKenna Center.
Slippery Rock (6-9, 2-9 PSAC-West) fought back and eventually cut the Seton Hill (7-9, 4-7 PSAC-West) lead down to as little as four points midway through the second half, but couldn't quite pull off what would have been an impressive comeback on the road.
As was the case in its recent setback against Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock was once again haunted by a slow first half in which The Rock committed 12 turnovers and shot 22.6 percent from the field. SRU played much better in the second half by cutting the turnovers down to five and shooting a respectable 41.7 percent, but the damage was too much to overcome.
Senior forward
D'Asia Chambers picked up two quick fouls in the opening eight minutes and was saddled with foul trouble the rest of the night, but still managed to lead The Rock with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year. Chambers, who passed Patti Bucklew for 12
th on The Rock's all-time scoring list in the second half, went 7-for-11 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.
Junior guards
Megan Hardiman and
Taylor Siggers both added eight points with Hardiman also pulling in six rebounds. Senior forward
Danielle Garroutte set a career-high with nine rebounds while junior guard
Erica Aiello had six rebounds of her own, one off of her personal-best, as well as two steals.
Slippery Rock continued its season-long trend of controlling the glass by outrebounding Seton Hill 46-36; SRU has won the battle of the boards in 10 of 15 games this year. Slippery Rock also made the most of its limited opportunities from the foul line, going 10-for-11 compared to Seton Hill's 17-for-23 night at the line.
Another factor in the loss was Seton Hill's three-point shooting. While only making 30.8 percent of thier attempts from distance it was the amount of the Griffins' made three's, eight to SRU's one, that was a key difference.
Seton Hill scored the game's first 14 points and held The Rock scoreless until the 14:27 mark of the first period when Garroutte converted a free throw for SRU's first point of the night. The Griffins went on to push its lead out to 15 points at 23-8 with 6:54 to play in the first half.
Slippery Rock battled back to trim the Seton Hill lead down to just nine points at 31-22 following a 14-10 Rock run. The key to The Rock's run was an increased defensive presence that forced Seton Hill into three turnovers in the period's final six minutes. However, the Griffins carried the momentum into the break as Mariah Wells connected on a three-pointer to send SHU into the locker room up 34-22.
In stark contrast to how it started the first half, Slippery Rock dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second period by outscoring Seton Hill 22-14 and making it a 48–44 game.
The run was sparked by an SRU offensive effort that made 10 of 16 field goal attempts and a defensive performance that held the Griffins to a 31.3 field goal percentage. Despite playing with three fouls, Chambers totaled eight points to start the half. Siggers also began to heat up with four points during the run.
However, the four-point margin would be as close as Slippery Rock would get. The Griffins managed to fend off The Rock's comeback attempt by making 13 foul shots to pull away down the stretch and earn the 69-55 home victory.
Slippery Rock held advantages over Seton Hill in points in the paint (28-26) and second chance points (16-7).
Wells made four three-pointers and finished with team-highs of 14 points and four steals to pace Seton Hill. Chelsea Apke also recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
With its three-game road trip now through, Slippery Rock will return home for a pair of games at Morrow Field House starting Saturday against 17th ranked Indiana (Pa.). Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
