SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Led by six players in double figures, the Slippery Rock University women's basketball team cruised to an 84-59 victory against Mansfield University Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover competition at Morrow Field House.
The victory improves The Rock's record to 9-7 overall and 7-4 in PSAC games. Mansfield drops to 5-12 in 2017-18 overall and 3-8 in league contests.
Slippery Rock had a great day shooting from the field, finishing the game with a 43.3 (29-for-67) field goal percentage overall and a 54.5 percent (12-for-22) mark from 3-point territory. The 12 3-pointers were a season-high for The Rock. Defensively, Slippery Rock forced Mansfield into 20 turnovers and held the Mounties to a 31.3 percent (21-for-67) showing from the field.
Krista Pietropola came off the bench to produce a solid double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds to go with one block and a pair of steals. Included in Pietropola's big game was three successful 3-pointers and five offensive rebounds. Her 13 rebounds are the most in a game by a Rock player this season.
Sierra Fordham scored a career-high 15 points to pace The Rock's offense against the Mountaineers. She went 6-for-10 from the field overall, 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 2-for-4 at the free throw line in addition to making two steals and passing out two assists.
Morgan Henderson displayed a soft shooting touch that resulted in her going a career-best 4-for-6 from 3-point range on the way to a 13-point day. She also pulled in five rebounds and blocked one shot over 20 minutes.
Skyla O'Connor scored a career-high 12 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting performance from the field that included a 1-for-1 mark from deep and a 3-for-4 mark at the foul line.
Rounding out The Rock's top scorers was the duo of
Brooke Hinderliter and
Madison Johnson. Hinderliter did a little bit of everything for SRU, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds, passing out six assists and coming away with three steals. Johnson also scored 10 points to go with three steals on defense.
LeeAnn Gibson chipped in seven points, four assists and two blocks while
Mallory Heinle blocked a pair of shots as well as pulling in four rebounds and scoring five points.
Slippery Rock parlayed a pair of big offensive quarters into its 25-point victory.
SRU jumped out to an early 28-13 lead in the first quarter and then withstood a 31-15 run over the next 13 minutes of regulation that allowed Mansfield to cut The Rock's lead down to just three points at 47-44 with 7:19 to play in the third quarter by scoring 26 of the period's final 32 points to end the threat and take a commanding 73-50 advantage to the fourth.
SRU and Mansfield finished Saturday's game by trading baskets for the near entirety of the fourth quarter en route to the 84-59 triumph. The Rock's 29 third-quarter points were the fifth most scored in a quarter by Slippery Rock since NCAA women's basketball switched from halves to quarters three seasons ago.
Slippery Rock also finished the game with advantages over Mansfield in blocks (8-7), steals (14-9), second chance points (19-11) and fast break points (12-8). The Rock's eight blocks were the most for the program since SRU blocked eight shots at Clarion on Feb. 22, 2015 (74 games).
Mary Kate Rumbaugh had a near double-double of 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Mansfield. Brielle Kelly, who entered Saturday's game averaging over 19 points per game was limited to just 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Slippery Rock will look to extend its winning streak to three games with a victory 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Pitt-Johnstown.
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