SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team defeated Shepherd University, 73-57, to open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover competition and claim its sixth consecutive win Friday in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
 
In addition to registering its first league win of the season, SRU improves to 6-1 overall following the in, marking its second 6-1 start to the year since the 1999-00 season. SRU's current six-game winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history. The loss moves Shepherd's record to 0-6 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC on the season.
 
Kristina Donza posted a strong performance as she paced The Rock with a season-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Donza rounded out a solid showing by shooting 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the floor and 50 percent (3-of-6) from long range.
 
Bella Long came off the bench for The Rock to go for 14 points, four rebounds and one steal while shooting 45.4 percent (5-of-11) from the floor and 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from 3-point range.
 
Isabellah Middleton ended the contest with yet another double-digit scoring effort, tallying 13 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals and one assist.
 
Rounding out Slippery Rock scorers was Jada Ward (9 points), Kennedy Middleton (7 points), Kaylin Venick (6 points), Kelley McKnight (4 points) and Alyssa Gillin (3 points).
 
SRU took care of the ball over the duration of the game, committing a season-low 11 turnovers while forcing the Rams into a season-high 26 miscues.
 
Players having a hand in forcing turnovers and helping The Rock secure a season-high 16 steals included Donza (3), Ward (3), Kaylin Venick (3, Gillin (2), Isabellah Middleton (2), Long (1), Kennedy Middleton (1) and KcKnight (1).
 
Slippery Rock and Shepherd played an evenly matched first quarter with the Rams claiming a slight lead for the majority of the first 10 minutes. However, back-to-back 3-pointers by Donza sent SRU into the second quarter with a one-point lead (22-21).
 
The Rock dominated the second quarter as they outscored the Rams 18-7 leading to a 12-point, 40-28, heading into halftime.
 
SRU stretched its lead to as many as 26 points with 7:12 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not see its sizeable advantage drop below 16 points over the final minutes of the game. Donza and Long combined for 15 of SRU's 33 second-half points en route to a convincing 73-57 Rock victory.
 
Slippery Rock ended the night shooting 33.7 percent (28-of-83) from the floor, 25.6 percent (10-of-39) from 3-point range and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the charity stripe.
 
SRU held advantages over Shepherd in points off turnovers (37-6), bench points (43-4) and points in the paint (22-12).
 
The Rams ended the contest shooting 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the floor, 29.7 percent (11-of-37) from long range and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the foul line. Despite the loss, Shepherd outrebounded The Rock (51-48). Pacing the Rams was Sydney Bolles with a game-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds.
 
Slippery Rock continues PSAC crossover competition when it travels to Shippensburg University 5:30 p.m. Saturday.









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