ERIE, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team forced 24 turnovers and held Johnson C. Smith to a 31.6 field goal percentage in a 71-60 victory Saturday on day one of the PSAC-CIAA Challenge in Erie, Pennsylvania.
 
Slippery Rock (1-0) trailed 17-11 following the first quarter, but was able to turn the game around with a dominating second-quarter effort that saw SRU hold Johnson C. Smith (0-1) to just one made field goal on 12 attempts to go with seven Golden Bull turnovers as SRU took a 30-23 lead into halftime.
 
SRU put the game away in the third quarter thanks to a 15-6 run over the first five minutes of the second half that opened up a 16-point, 45-29, lead that The Rock never came close to relinquishing on the way to the 11-point victory.
 
Junior guard Brooke Hinderliter led the way for Slippery Rock on Saturday with a 17-point, nine-rebound, three-steal effort. Hinderliter, who had four offensive rebounds for the game, went 4-for-9 from the field overall and was a near perfect 9-for-10 at the free throw line.
 
Redshirt senior guard Ciara Patterson and junior guard Madison Johnson each finished in double figures as well with 12 and 11 points, respectively. All of Patterson's points came from long range, as the crafty guard was 4-for-9 from 3-point territory.
 
Playing in her first game at SRU after sitting out all of last year due to injury, redshirt sophomore guard Kasch Harris scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and matched Johnson for the team lead in assists with three.
 
Sophomore guard Daeja Quick came off the bench to score nine points with freshman guard Brittany Andrews and senior forward Morgan Henderson rounding out The Rock's top scorers with six points each. Henderson also pulled down six rebounds.
 
Junior forward Karington Ketterer provided The Rock with five rebounds and one block inside over 26 minutes off the bench as well.
 
While Slippery Rock did not have a great night shooting from the floor at just 34.4 percent overall and 22.7 percent from 3-point range, its stellar defense and great foul shooting (24-of-30) more than made up for the off offensive night.
 
For the game, SRU held advantages over Johnson C. Smith in steals (9-7), points off turnovers (24-18), points in the paint (24-16) and fast break points (6-2).
 
Rayeesha Hewlett, who had 15 points and five rebounds, led the Golden Bulls in the loss.
 
Slippery Rock will close out its season-opening weekend 1 p.m. Sunday against Elizabeth City State on day two of the PSAC-CIAA Challenge.
 
NOTES
-Slippery Rock has won four of its five season-openers under head coach Bobby McGraw.
 
-A victory against Elizabeth City State on Sunday would give SRU a 2-0 record for the third time in the last four years.
 
-The Rock's 24 successful free throws are tied for the fourth most made foul shots in a single-game by a Rock team in the last five years.
 
-Hinderliter's 17 points gives her 707 for her career, the 27th most in program history.
 
-Patterson's four 3-pointers moves her up to 12th in career triples at SRU with 85, just eight away from moving into 10th place all-time.
 
 
 
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