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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Fresh off of an impressive 68-57 victory against Clarion, the Slippery Rock University women's basketball team will look to follow up on its recent success when it travels to No. 24 California (Pa.) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE
The California sports information office will provide live stats, audio and video of Saturday's game at the above links. Updates will also be avoidable on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics)
 
THE OPENING TIP
• Saturday's game is the fourth contest of the season in which Slippery Rock will play a team that was ranked in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's top 25 poll at the time of the contest. Earlier in the year, Slippery Rock played at No. 13 Gannon before hosting No. 20 Bloomsburg and No. 17 Indiana (Pa.). Edinboro was also receiving votes in the WBCA top 25 when it played at Slippery Rock on Dec. 3.
 
• Slippery Rock enters Saturday's game at 7-10 overall and 3-10 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Vulcans are 14-3 overall on the year and slotted second in the PSAC-West standings with a conference-mark of 11-2.
 
• SRU earned its win against Clarion behind an impressive second half in which it shot 50 percent from the field and held CU to just seven made field goals. Senior forward D'Asia Chambers produced a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Megan Hardiman chipped in a season-high 14 points as well.
 
MOST WINS SINCE 2008-09
The new era of Slippery Rock women's basketball took another step in the right direction with its win against Clarion. The victory was SRU's seventh of the season, which is the most by a Rock team in the last five seasons. Prior to this year, the last time Slippery Rock won more than six games in a season was when the 2008-09 squad tallied 11 victories.
 
Other areas in which Slippery Rock has shown drastic improvement have come in rebounding and on the defensive end of the floor.
 
Slippery Rock currently averages 41.3 rebounds per game (rpg), which would be the most by SRU since 1999-00 if the season ended today. Additionally, it would mark the first time since 2006-07 that SRU would finish the year with a positive rebounding margin if The Rock can maintain their current +1.5 tally.
 
Defensively, Slippery Rock has given up 64.8 points per game (ppg), the fewest since SRU allowed 63.4 points in 2006-07.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
Chambers has done a terrific job of building off of her breakout junior season with a quality final year. On the season, she leads the league with 10 double-doubles and ranks second in the PSAC in scoring (16.6 ppg), third in rebounding (10.2 rpg), eighth in field goal percentage (.493) and 14th in steals.
 
In addition to Chambers, Slippery Rock's primary scoring threats have been junior guard Taylor Siggers and junior guard Erica Aiello with respective ppg averages of 10.5 and 9.1. Aiello has also knocked down a team-high 19 three-pointers and passed out a Rock-best 3.4 assists per game; the 10th highest total in the PSAC.
 
Senior forward Danielle Garroutte blocked a game-high two shots against Clarion to move her season total up to a career-best, and team-high, 14 on the year. Hardiman is The Rock's second leading rebounder at 4.5 per game.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock scores 63.5 ppg while giving up 64.8 ppg. SRU ranks third in the PSAC in free throw percentage (.728), third in defensive rebounding (28.5), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.369), fourth in blocks (3.65) and seventh in total rebounds (41.3).
 
RARE AIR
Chambers is on pace to lead Slippery Rock in points, rebounds, steals and field goal percentage. Since 1986-87, this feat has only been accomplished twice. Once a season ago when Chambers accomplished the statistical grand slam for the first time and the other in 2010-11 courtesy of former Rock standout Danielle Smith.
 
Chambers also ranks sixth in Rock history in rebounds (639), 10th in blocks (50), 11th in steals (112) and 12th in points (1,142). She is 21 points away from moving into 11th place on The Rock's career scoring ledger. She is one of three athletes to rank in the top 12 in Rock history in all four categories along with Beth Dansberger (1992-96) and Stacey Green (2001-05).
 
SECOND HALF STOPPERS
Through the last three games Slippery Rock has held its opponents to combined second half totals of a 32.5 field goal percentage (27-for-83) and a three-point field goal percentage of just 30.8 (12-for-39).
 
The trend is reminiscent of how Slippery Rock has performed in the second half in its seven wins on the year when it has held opponents to a 33.3 field goal percentage (63-for-189), a 26.6 three-point shooting percentage (17-for-64) as well as forcing 9.3 turnovers in the final 20 minutes of the contests. 
 
CLOSING IN
Aiello is closing in on becoming one of the top passers in terms of assists in Slippery Rock history. With 243 assists already in her career, she needs 45 more to become The Rock's No. 10 assist leader all-time. Her 3.5 assists per game for her career already rank seventh in Rock history.
 
BUCKING THE TREND
Slippery Rock's win against Clarion marked the first time this season that SRU won a game in which it was trailing at halftime. For the year SRU is 1-10 when trailing at the half and 6-0 when leading.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• 5 - number of 20-point games Chambers has scored in 2014-15.
 
• 13 - consecutive free throws made by sophomore guard Audrey Stapleton.
 
• 25 - minutes played by freshman guard Shannon Jack against Clarion in what was her first collegiate start.
 
 • 9 - points scored by Stapleton against Clarion, which matched her previous career-high set on Jan. 4 against Lock Haven.
 
• 12.2 - Chambers' points per game average in six career games against California. She had 21 and 14 point contests vs. the Vulcans last year.
 
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA
The nationally ranked Vulcans had their three-game winning streak snapped in a close 71-63 decision on the road Thursday against Gannon University.
 
Miki Glenn and Emma Mahady combine to score over 32 ppg with Glenn leading the way at 16.2 ppg followed closely by Mahady at 16.0 ppg. Fellow starter Kaitlynn Fratz is the third Cal U. player to average double-digit ppg with 11.6. In addition to her scoring output, Glenn also leads the team in assists (2.9) and steals (3.2). Mahady's 6.0 rpg is a team-high as well.
 
California is scoring 73.1 ppg while allowing 61.4 ppg. The Vulcans boast an impressive +8.06 turnover margin thanks in part to a defensive effort that forces a league-high 23.1 turnovers a game.
 
THE COACHES
Leading the resurgence of Slippery Rock women's basketball is first-year head coach Bobby McGraw. McGraw, a former assistant men's basketball coach at La Roche College and volunteer assistant with the SRU men's basketball team, was named as assistant coach of the SRU women's basketball team Oct. 22, 2013. In May of 2014, McGraw was promoted to acting head coach of the SRU women's program for the 2014-15 season, replacing Tanya Longo. McGraw has needed just over half of a season to record what are already the most wins by a Rock team in the last six seasons.
 
A former four-year starter at Penn State, Jess Strom enters her fourth season as head coach and ninth overall as a member of the Cal U coaching staff. Strom has led the Vulcans to a 68-28 overall record while the head coach. During her time with the program, Cal U has made six NCAA Tournament appearances, boasted a pair of WBCA All-Americans and featured three PSAC West Athletes of the Year.
 
LAST SLIPPERY ROCK-CALIFORNIA MEETING
Chambers scored 21 points and senior center Jazmyne Frost added 20 tallies in a losing cause Feb. 1, 2014 as Slippery Rock dropped an 85-67 decision to visiting California (Pa.) in PSAC-West action in Morrow Field House.
 
Frost also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Chambers snared six rebounds. Aiello contributed 10 points for SRU, which saw its season records drop to 4-16 overall and 1-9 in PSAC West action.
 
The Rock finished the game with a 44% (27 of 62) efficiency on its field-goal attempts with a 42% (5 of 12) on 3-point shots.
 
Mahady recorded game-high totals of 22 points and 15 rebounds and Irina Kukolj added 21 points and six rebounds for California.
 
SERIES HISTORY
To say that California has controlled the recent series history against Slippery Rock is an understatement. The Vulcans have won 26 consecutive games against The Rock dating back to the 2001-02 season. Slippery Rock's youngest player, freshman guard Sierra Fordham (18 years and seven months), was five-years old when The Rock recorded a 70-60 win against the Vulcans in what was their most recent win vs. Cal. Overall, California leads the series 46-23.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock returns home to Morrow Field House to host Gannon University in a rematch from earlier in the year on Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.