ERIE, Pa. - Brooke Hinderliter scored 30 points and LeeAnn Gibson recorded her third double-double of the season to lead the Slippery Rock University women's basketball team to a 69-64 road victory at Mercyhurst University Wednesday night.
 
The victory improved The Rock's record to 5-13 overall and 3-9 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. Mercyhurst drops to 4-14 overall and 4-8 in league play with the loss.
 
Wednesday's win, combined with Pitt-Johnstown's five-point loss at Indiana (Pa.), moves The Rock to within two games of Pitt-Johnstown for sixth place in the league standings. The top six teams in both the PSAC West and PSAC East standings at the end of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament.
 
Hinderliter earned the third 30-point game of her career by going 11-for-23 from the field overall and 8-for-10 at the free throw line all the while adding six rebounds and one steal over 38 minutes. Hinderliter has now scored 25 or more points in three of The Rock's last four games.
 
Gibson, who ranks fourth in the PSAC in rebounding, scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and took two charges before eventually fouling out after playing 25 minutes. All three of Gibson's double-doubles this season have come in SRU's last four games.
 
Daeja Quick overcame a rough shooting night from the field by making eight of her 11 free throw attempts to finish with 14 points in addition to five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Madison Johnson was Slippery Rock's fourth-leading scorer with nine points.
 
Karington Ketterer matched her career-high with three blocks against the Lakers. Ketterer has amassed 10 of her team-best 17 blocks this season in Slippery Rock's last six contests. Reserve forward Anyah Curd joined Ketterer inside with two rejections of her own.
 
The Lakers jumped out to an early 13-4 lead only to see The Rock battle back by rattling off a 15-6 run to pull even with Mercyhurst at 19-19 heading into the second quarter. Johnson scored seven points while Hinderliter and Gibson chipped in five apiece over the first 10 minutes for SRU.
 
Slippery Rock successfully carried its momentum from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter as it meticulously built its lead out to as many as eight points on two occasions before taking a 37-31 lead into the halftime break.  
 
SRU played great defense in the opening 20 minutes as it held the Lakers to a 25.8 field goal percentage while forcing six turnovers. Mercyhurst stayed in the game by making the most of its free throw attempts in the form of a perfect 14-for-14 showing at the foul line.
 
The Rock's lead grew to as many as 13 points in the third quarter before the Lakers went on an 11-2 run to cut SRU's advantage down to just four points at 51-47 heading into the final 10 minutes of competition.
 
Mercyhurst continued to whittle away at Slippery Rock's lead throughout the fourth quarter and with 5:24 remaining in regulation the Lakers trailed by only three points. However, Slippery Rock put any thoughts of Mercyhurst comeback to rest when Quick and Hinderliter converted back-to-back 3-point plays to push The Rock's lead back out to a comfortable nine points on the way to an eventual five-point victory.
 
Slippery Rock shined defensively against the Lakers as The Rock limited Mercyhurst to a 28.8 overall field goal percentage (17-for-59) and a 22.7 percent (5-for-22) showing from 3-point range. 40 percent of Mercyhurst's points against The Rock came at the free throw line where the Lakers were a stellar 25-for-31.  
 
Mercyhurst's 17 made field goals were the fewest allowed in a game by The Rock this season while the Lakers' 64 points was the third lowest point total by a Rock opponent in 2019-20. Offensively, Slippery Rock enjoyed a 22-for-49 (44.9 percent) showing from the field overall to go with a 24-for-33 (72.7 percent) outing at the foul line.
 
Amber Renz supplied the Lakers with 18 points and six rebounds for Mercyhurst.
 
Slippery Rock returns home to host Edinboro University 1 p.m. Saturday at Morrow Field House for a PSAC West contest.



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