EDINBORO, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team played even with Edinboro University for the final three quarters, but a slow start proved too much to overcome for SRU in a 71-55 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division road loss Saturday.
 
Slippery Rock, which was playing its first contest in 14 days Saturday, had its four-game winning streak snapped with the defeat while its record moved to 10-4 on the season overall and 5-3 in league games. Edinboro improves to 8-4 overall and 6-3 in PSAC West games following the win.
 
Bella Long led The Rock's efforts against the Fighting Scots as the redshirt freshman came off the bench to score 11 points, block one shot and make one steal. Long was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field overall including a stellar 3-of-3 showing from 3-point range. Long, who has now made each of her last six 3-point attempts over the last two games, is shooting 55.6 percent from distance this season.
 
With All-America candidate Jamiyah Johnson forced to sit out Saturday, freshman center Kelley McKnight made the first start of her collegiate career. She made the most of the opportunity, scoring nine points thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers while grabbing four rebounds over 23 minutes.
 
Daeja Quick and Kennedy Middleton added eight points apiece with Quick also making six steals and dishing out five assists. Quick's six steals are tied for ninth in Slippery Rock single-game history. Middleton added four rebounds, three steals and three assists as well.
 
Deleah Gibson chipped in seven points and Anyah Curd was credited with eight rebounds and one block to round out The Rock's top contributors.
 
Slippery Rock looked every bit the part of a team that was playing its first game in two weeks through the opening 10 minutes as SRU committed 10 turnovers and shot just 25 percent from the floor resulting in a 23-7 Edinboro lead after one quarter of play.
 
However, Slippery Rock responded from the early slump with a great second quarter that saw SRU outscore Edinboro 19-11 and cut its deficit to just eight points at 34-26 heading into the halftime break.
 
The Rock's comeback could be attributed to a 4-for-7 showing from 3-point range in the second quarter accompanied by committing just three turnovers all the while forcing Edinboro into nine miscues of their own in the second period.
 
The freshman combination of Long and McKnight spearheaded the charge as the duo ended the first half going a combined 5-for-5 from 3-point territory.
 
While The Rock did a great job of stifling the Fighting Scots' offense in the third quarter, they were unable to find a rhythm of their own as the two teams traded baskets for much of the quarter resulting in Edinboro maintaining its eight-point lead at 42-34 six minutes into the period before ending the quarter on a 10-5 run to carry a 13-point advantage into the fourth.
 
Any thoughts of a Rock comeback were put to rest early in the fourth quarter as Edinboro opened the final 10 minutes on an 11-4 spurt to open up a 20-point lead it never relinquished en route to the eventual 71-55 home victory.
 
For the game, Slippery Rock shot 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the field overall, 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) at the foul line. After a sloppy first quarter, SRU committed just eight turnovers over the final 30 minutes to finish with 18 all the while forcing the Fighting Scots into 24 turnovers of their own which The Rock scored 23 points off of.
 
Edinboro finished the contest shooting 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field overall, 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from 3-point territory and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free throw line. EU held a sizable +18 rebounding margin (46-28) over SRU. Four Fighting Scots scored in double figures led by Bella Burrelli's game-high 18 points.
 
Slippery Rock's scheduled PSAC West contest against Mercyhurst University, which was scheduled to be played Monday was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. SRU will now return to competition when it travels to Millersville University 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in PSAC crossover action.
 
 
 
 
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