INDIANA, Pa. – The 18th ranked Indiana University (Pa.) women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the second half and held off Slippery Rock University for a 10-7 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at George P. Miller Stadium.
 
The Rock (9-3, 4-3 PSAC) were playing their second of three straight games against nationally ranked opponents and struggled to gain possession on the road at Indiana (7-4, 6-1 PSAC), winning just four of 19 draw controls on the night. The Crimson Hawks were able to exploit that possession advantage, despite turning the ball over 22 times.
 
Indiana scored the first three goals of the game and scored just 23 seconds into the second half to take a 5-1 lead. SRU answered with a 3-1 run to get it to 6-4 with just over 20 minutes to go, but another two-goal rally from the hosts later in the period sealed the win.
 
The Crimson Hawks finished the game with a 23-15 advantage in total shots and a 21-17 edge in ground balls, but the story of the game was the 15-4 advantage in the draw circle. Indiana was 13-of-19 on clear attempts, while SRU was 14-of-22 on the clear.
 
Brittany Brewer led SRU with three goals, while Caitlynn Palladino finished with three assists. Bre Vodde, Tia Torchia, Tori Penders and ShyAnne Toomer each scored one goal and Chynna Chan handed out one assist to cap the scorers for The Rock.
 
Emily Bitka made nine saves in goal, including eight in the first half alone as Indiana outshot The Rock 15-8 over the first 30 minutes of the game.
 
The Crimson Hawks were paced by Ally Burrows with three goals and one assist and Katie Martyn with two goals and one assist. Angela Lontoc made six saves in goal.
 
The loss keeps Slippery Rock in fifth place in the league standings, tied with No. 19 Lock Haven to the final two playoff spots, making this weekend's meeting between the two teams even more important. The Lady Eagles will visit Slippery Rock Saturday for a 1 p.m. game. SRU's senior class will be honored in a pregame ceremony as part of the annual Senior Day festivities.