CALIFORNIA, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team led by 11 points with seven minutes to play in regulation, but No. 16 California University (Pa.) was able to rally late and escape with a 78-72 home Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division victory Wednesday.
 
The narrow defeat drops The Rock's record to 6-7 overall and 4-3 in the PSAC West. The nationally ranked Vulcans improve to 12-1 overall and 6-1 in league games with the win.
 
Slippery Rock went toe-to-toe with California for the near entirety of Wednesday's contest which featured nine lead changes and six ties.
 
After a tight first half that saw the Vulcans take a 33-29 lead into the break, Slippery Rock opened the third quarter by darting out on a 20-7 run to open up a nine-point advantage at 49-40 with 3:17 to play in the third quarter. As she did the whole game, junior guard Brooke Hinderliter carried the load offensively with 10 points during the spurt.
 
California proceeded to end the quarter by scoring nine of the game's next 11 points to trim SRU's lead down to 51-49 through 30 minutes of competition. Undeterred, Slippery Rock quickly built its lead back up to 11 points to start the fourth quarter as Hinderliter scored eight points to spearhead a run that gave The Rock a 62-51 advantage with 6:35 left in regulation.
 
However, Slippery Rock's hopes of an upset ended there as California closed out the game on a 27-10 run en route to the victory. After struggling from the field for the majority of the night, California made six of its final 10 field goals to go with 14 successful foul shots. Meanwhile, SRU was unable to recreate its early success in the final stages of the game which resulted in seven turnovers and a 30 percent (3-for-10) showing from the field late.
 
Hinderliter was dynamic for The Rock on Wednesday, scoring 29 points, grabbing four rebounds and making one steal. Hinderliter, who is now just 54 points away from 1,000 for her career, went 14-for-22 from the field overall and 1-for-1 from 3-point range over 39 minutes played.
 
As has been the case the whole season, redshirt senior guard Ciara Patterson continued to supply The Rock with offense as well as solid perimeter defense in the form of 14 points and two steals. Junior forward LeeAnn Gibson battled down low to score 12 points and grab six rebounds.
 
Senior forward Morgan Henderson and redshirt junior guard Madison Johnson rounded out The Rock's leading scorers at nine and eight points, respectively, with Henderson also grabbing seven rebounds and blocking one shot.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock shot a season-high 53.4 percent (31-for-58) from the field overall. Defensively, Slippery Rock held California to an overall shooting percentage of 34.7 percent (25-for-72) from the field and just a 15.2 percent (5-for-33) showing from 3-point range.
 
While Slippery Rock made seven of its eight free throws, California greatly benefitted from 32 trips to the foul line, 23 of which were made. Heading into the final minute of regulation the Vulcans held a 24-5 advantage in free throw attempts over an interior-centric Rock offense.
 
The Vulcans forced The Rock into 21 turnovers while boasting a 42-34 edge in rebounding, that included 24 offensive rebounds which resulted in 19 second chance points. Gina Vallercorsa scored 20 points to lead California.
 
Slippery Rock will now turn its attention to a Saturday showdown against No. 1 Indiana (Pa.) at Morrow Field House. Opening tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 


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