SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team overcame a sluggish start to defeat Cheyney University, 55-45, Sunday afternoon at Morrow Field House.
 
The victory snaps Slippery Rock's four-game losing streak and improves its record to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference games. Cheyney drops to 0-4 both overall and in league competition.
 
The Rock's 45 points allowed is the third lowest scoring total an NCAA Division II team has scored against Slippery Rock in the last six seasons (140 games). Previously, Slippery Rock limited Cheyney to 41 points during the 2012-13 season and Salem International to 43 points in 2014-15.
 
Cheyney put a scare into The Rock in the first half as SRU struggled offensively with 17 turnovers and a field goal percentage of just 22.7 percent (5-of-22) while the Wolves made four 3-pointers over the first 17 minutes of the game to open up a 12-point lead, 26-14, late in the second quarter.
 
However, Slippery Rock started to find its rhythm in the latter stages of the second quarter with a 6-0 run that cut its deficit to 26-20 heading into the break. Brooke Hinderliter accounted for four of the points during the run.
 
Slippery Rock rebounded from its rough opening half with a dominating third quarter that saw The Rock shoot 52.9 percent from the field and force Cheyney into eight turnovers to take a 45-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The key to the strong third quarter was an 11-3 run over a three-minute stretch in the middle of the period in which Krista Pietropola made a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws to go with a 3-pointer by Lexi Carpenter.
 
SRU stretched its lead out to as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter before Cheyney made one last push and cut Slippery Rock's lead to 49-45 with 2:21 to play in regulation. Any thoughts of a Cheyney comeback were put to rest as SRU converted six of its final eight free throw attempts in the game's final two minutes to pull away for the double-digit victory.
 
For a third consecutive game, Slippery Rock's bench came up huge with 35 total points. Carpenter scored a game-high 12 points and Hinderliter had 11 points to guide The Rock's reserves. Pietropola added eight points and C.C. Dixon chipped in four points to round out Slippery Rock's bench scoring.
 
Carpenter also had four assists and two steals. Pietropola and Dixon grabbed four rebounds each with Dixon also passing out three assists and making two steals.
 
The trio of Morgan Henderson, Mallory Heinle and LeeAnn Gibson led The Rock's rebounding efforts. Henderson, who also had two blocks and three steals, pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds while Heinle and Gibson recorded eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Heinle also scored seven points, the most by any Rock starter.
 
Slippery Rock overcame a season-low 31.4 field goal percentage (16-of-51) and 26 turnovers by making 18 of its 23 free throw attempts (78.8 percent) coupled with a defensive effort that led to Cheyney shooting just 26.6 (17-of-64) percent from the field and committing 23 turnovers, which SRU converted into 16 points.
 
TaKayla Ellis paced Cheyney with 11 points, six assists and four steals.
 
Slippery Rock will play its final home game of the fall semester when it hosts Millersville University Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.