SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Seton Hill University for the majority of Saturday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division contest, but couldn't overcome a disastrous third quarter in a 75-65 loss at Morrow Field House.
 
With the loss, Slippery Rock drops to 10-12 on the year overall and 8-9 in league games. Seton Hill's win improves its record to 17-6 overall and 12-5 in conference competition.
 
Despite the defeat, Slippery Rock remains in sixth place in the PSAC West standings thanks to Shippensburg's 85-78 win at Mercyhurst, which dropped the Lakers' league record to 7-9. With five games to play in the regular season, Slippery Rock leads Mercyhurst in the league standings by a half-game. The top six teams in the PSAC West standings at the conclusion of the season qualify for the conference tournament.
 
Slippery Rock outscored the Griffins 54-53 combined in the first, second and fourth quarters, but Seton Hill doubled up SRU, 22-11, in what turned out to be a decisive third period. Slippery Rock shot just 14.3 percent (2-for-14) in the third quarter and committed six of its 13 turnovers on the day in the 10-minute stretch. The Griffins countered by hitting six field goals, three of which were 3-pointers, and making just one turnover.
 
Madison Johnson broke out of her scoring slump to lead The Rock with a team-best 18 points. Johnson made 5-of-13 shots overall, including one 3-pointer, while also going 7-for-9 from free throw line in addition to grabbing four rebounds.
 
LeeAnn Gibson matched a career-high with 13 points to go with seven rebounds, one block and one steal in what was a near double-double performance. Gibson was 5-for-11 from the field and 3-for-4 at the free throw line.
 
Brooke Hinderliter had eight points and 11 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive glass, Mallory Heinle came off the bench to produce seven points, four rebounds and one block. Krista Pietropola blocked one shot and pulled in seven rebounds while Morgan Henderson chipped in seven points and one block.
 
The Griffins led Slippery Rock, 15-14, after one quarter of play and extended their lead to as many as seven points in the second before The Rock rallied back to end the period on a quality 11-1 run to take a 36-33 lead into the halftime break. Five different Rock players scored points over the spurt.
 
SRU proceeded to stretch its lead out to six points at 43-37 with 6:30 to play in the third quarter. However, Slippery Rock then went cold for the remainder of the quarter which allowed Seton Hill to promptly rattle off an 18-4 run over the next six minutes to take a 55-47 advantage into the game's final quarter.
 
Seton Hill carried its momentum into the fourth quarter by building its lead to as many as 20 points with two minutes remaining in regulation before SRU finished the game on a 10-0 run to cut its margin of defeat down to 10 points, 75-65. Johnson scored seven points during the game-ending run for The Rock.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock finished the game shooting 36.5 percent (22-for-63) from the field overall, 21.4 percent (3-for-14) and 76.2 percent (16-for-21) at the free throw line. SRU out-rebounded the Griffins, 45-43, in addition to holding advantages in blocks (7-3), points in the paint (40-18), bench scoring (14-13) and fast break points (6-4).
 
Cheyenne Trest scored a game-high 22 points to lead Seton Hill. Alex Hay added 17 points to go with five assists. Seton Hill shot just 33.8 percent (23-for-68) from the field, but made 12 3-pointers, the most by any SRU opponent this year, to help secure the victory. SHU was 7-for-15 from long range in the second half.
 
Slippery Rock will play at Mercyhurst 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in a crucial PSAC West showdown.
 

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