COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team lost to No. 17 Ohio State University, 96-48, in an exhibition game on the road Wednesday night at the Schottenstein Center.
 
Wednesday's game marked the first of two exhibition contests against Division I teams for The Rock; SRU also plays at the University of Akron Nov. 9 in preparation for the official start of its season Nov. 12-13 at the Earl Lloyd Classic in Institute, West Virginia.
 
Slippery Rock played Ohio State tight for the opening half of the first quarter as OSU led by just five points at 14-9 five minutes into the game. However, the Buckeyes closed out the quarter on a 20-3 run to break the game open. Ohio State went on to lead by 31 points going into halftime on the way to the eventual 96-48 win.
 
The Rock made six 3-pointers and shot an efficient 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field overall in the opening 20 minutes before fading slightly down the stretch in the second half.
 
A trio of newcomers headlined The Rock's efforts against the nationally ranked Buckeyes.
 
Deleah Gibson and Isabellah Middleton scored 13 points apiece while combining to shoot a solid 10-for-25 (.400) from the field overall and an impeccable 6-for-12 (.500) from 3-point range with each player knocking down three three-pointers. Gibson also dished out three assists while coming away with a pair of steals.
 
Jamiyah Johnson, a graduate transfer center from Davis & Elkins who ranks seventh among all active NCAA athletes regardless of division in career rebounds, recorded a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Rounding out SRU's scorers was Daeja Quick with six points, Kelley McKnight with three and Jade Roddy with two. In addition to her point total, Quick also passed out a game-high six assists to go with one steal on the defensive end of the floor.
 
McKnight also finished in a three-way tie for second on the team in rebounds with three along with Anyah Curd and Kaylin Venick.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock shot 35.8 percent (19-of-53) from the floor, 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from 3-point range and 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from the foul line.
 
Ohio State shot 45.9 percent (34-of-74) from the field overall while making 10 3-pointers and converting 78.3 percent of its foul shots (18-of-23). OSU, which out-rebounded The Rock 44-35, forced The Rock into 33 turnovers which they translated into 42 points.
 
Hevynne Bristow scored a game-high 18 points while grabbing seven rebounds to lead Ohio State.
 
Slippery Rock and Akron are set for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Nov. 9 at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.
 




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