SLIPPERY ROCK Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team will look to end a four-game losing streak with a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division victory at Mercyhurst University 1 p.m. Saturday.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and in-game statistics will be provided for Saturday's game by the Mercyhurst Athletic Communication office at the links below.
GAME 15 DETAILS
Opponent: Mercyhurst University
Date: Saturday – 1 p.m.
Location: Mercyhurst Athletic Center – Erie, Pennsylvania
Live Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Updates: Twitter (
@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: Lakers lead 21-19
Last Played: Feb. 26, 2022 (Rock won 67-65)
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst holds a slight 21-19 lead over Slippery Rock in the all-time series dating back to 1983. SRU has won four of its last five meetings against MU and is currently on a two-game winning streak. The Rock are an even 10-10 when traveling to Erie, Pennsylvania to face the Lakers.
LAST MEETING
Slippery Rock closed out the 2021-22 season with a 67-65 victory at Mercyhurst Feb. 26, 2022. SRU battled back from a 15-point first half deficit to secure the win. The Rock were led by duo of
Jamiyah Johnson and
Daeja Quick. Johnson collected a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds while completing her stat line with two steals. Quick tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block.
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
Overall Record: 8-6
PSAC West Record: 3-5
PSAC West Standings: Tied for eighth
Home Record: 4-2
Away Record: 3-2
Neutral Record: 1-1
Last Five Games: 1-4
Streak: L4
Acting Head Coach: Chenara Wilson | First year at SRU (8-6)
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock suffered its fourth consecutive loss in a 76-58 decision on the road at Seton Hill Wednesday.
Isabellah Middleton led The Rock with 20 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Deleah Gibson totaled 13 points and two steals to go along with season-highs of six rebounds and four assists.
ANOTHER SCORE FOR MIDDLETON
Isabellah Middleton, with her 20-point effort at Seton Hill, has now recorded seven 20-point performances this season. For her career, she is tied for eighth with
Jamiyah Johnson and Madison Johnson in 20-point games at The Rock since 2002-03.
GIBSON BEYOND THE ARCH
After a four-game slump of making just one 3-pointer, Gibson shot 50 percent (3-of-6) from distance at Seton Hill tallying her fourth game this season with three made 3's. For her efforts, Gibson now ranks 25th in program history for 3-pointers made in a career with 54. With at least 14 games to play, Gibson figures to quickly climb The Rock's career record book.
SRU Career 3-Pointers Made (No. 21-25)
21:
Daeja Quick (2018-22): 59
22: Amber McFeely (2002-06): 58
23: Brooke Hinderliter (2016-20): 57
24: Aidan Geise (2012-14): 55
25: Deleah Gibson (2020-SA): 54
TRIUMPHANT TRIO
The triad of Gibson,
Isabellah Middleton and
Kennedy Middleton continue to pace the Slippery Rock offense through 14 games as they combine to score 64.2 percent (590-of-919) of SRU's points this season.
Throughout the 18-team conference, the trio average the third most points per game with 46.5.
Top Trios Duos in the PSAC
1: Ariel Jones, Lauren Pettis, Treasure George (Shippensburg): 47.7
2: Emily McAteer, Leah Johnson, Anna McTamney (West Chester): 47.4
3: Isabellah Middleton, Kennedy Middleton (ROCK): 46.5
t-4: Rana Elhusseini, Hayley Sims, Lauren Mullen (Edinboro): 43.7
t-4: Kiera Baughman, Maria Cerro, Alana Cardona (IUP): 43.7
FINDING THE FIRST HALF
SRU snapped a three-game streak of scoring less than 10 points in the first quarter when it tallied 15 at Seton Hill, marking its highest scoring output in the first 10 minutes since Dec. 3 at Shippensburg (17). Additionally, The Rock's 34 first half points against the Griffins are the most they have scored since playing the Raiders (35).
Slippery Rock posted its second-best first half shooting performance from the floor this season against SHU as it shot 46.7 percent (15-of-32). The Rock's best of the season was 65.4 percent (17-of-26) versus Notre Dame College.
FRESH FIVE
Slippery Rock featured a different starting line-up at SHU for the first time in seven games and the first of its configuration this season in Gibson,
Jordan Kauffman, Isabellah Midlleton,
Kennedy Middleton and
Kaylin Venick.
For the season,
Isabellah Middleton continues to pace SRU with per game averages of 18.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.6 assists per game.
Kennedy Middleton leads The Rock on the defensive end of the court with 9.2 rpg in addition to 13.3 ppg, 3.2 apg and 1.5 spg while shooting a team-high 41.2 percent from 3-point range.
Gibson enters the weekend averaging 15.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.2 apg and 2.2 spg while going 43.9 percent from the field and 84.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Venick and Kauffman round out the current Rock starters with stat lines of 2.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg and 2.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg respectively. Wednesday's contest was the first career start for Kauffman.
ROUNDING OUT THE ROCK ROTATION
Five additional Rock players have seen time in at least 10 contests this season in
Alyssa Gillin,
Bella Long,
Kelley McKnight,
Jada Ward and
Emily Venick.
Long, a key reserve for SRU, averages 7.2 point and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the floor.
Ward, The Rock's back-up facilitator, enters Saturday's contest tallying 4.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.6 apg and 1.1 spg. She dished out a career-high four assists against Seton Hill and is on a seven-game streak with at least one steal.
In 14 contests, McKnight claims a stat line of 3.1 ppg and 3.9 rpg while shooting the second-best free throw percentage on the team of 83.3 percent, having missed only two foul shots this season.
Gillin averages 2.7 ppg and 1.4 rpg while Venick tallies 1.5 apg, 1.1 rpg and 1.0 ppg.
A LOOK AROUND THE CONFERENCE
As a team, SRU ranks among the top 10 in the PSAC in six categories while individually three players rank in the top 10 in at least one category as well.
PSAC Team Rankings
•
Opponent 3-Point Percentage: 3rd (.275)
•
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 5th (27.2)
•
Steals Per Game: 6th (9.4)
•
Rebounds Per Game: 7th (39.4)
•
3-Point Percentage: 7th (.320)
•
3-Pointers Per Game: t-8th (6.1)
PSAC Individual Rankings
•
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: Kennedy Middleton – 2nd (7.1)
•
Points Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – 4th (18.1)
•
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – 4th (6.3)
•
Rebounds Per Game: Kennedy Middleton – 4th (9.2)
•
Free Throw Percentage: Deleah Gibson – 5th (.848)
•
Steals Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – 6th (2.3)
•
Field Goal Percentage: Deleah Gibson – 7th (.439)
•
Steals Per Game: Deleah Gibson – t-7th (2.2)
•
Field Goal Percentage: Kennedy Middleton – 9th (.418)
•
Rebounds Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – 10th (7.9)
THE ROCK vs. MERCYHURST LAST YEAR (2 Games)
Kennedy Middleton: 14.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.0 spg, 1.0 apg, 0.5 bpg
Bella Long: 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Kelley McKnight: 5.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 spg
Kaylin Venick: 2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.0 spg
Deleah Gibson (1 game): 18 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
MERCYHURST PRIMER
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
Overall Record: 9-5
PSAC West Record: 5-3
PSAC West Standings: Tied for fourth
Home Record: 4-2
Away Record: 5-3
Last Five Games: 4-1
Streak: W2
Head Coach: Brooklyn Kohlheim | Fourth year at MU (38-50)
SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Last time out: Mercyhurst defeated PSAC East opponent Shepherd University, 85-65, at home Wednesday.
As a team, the Lakers have shown their dominance from distance as they enter the weekend ranked fifth in all Division II in 3-point percentage (.382) while also ranking 15th in DII in points per game (77.7).
In the conference, Mercyhurst is first in ppg, and field goal percentage (.445) in addition to being second in 3-point percentage, fifth in scoring margin (+9.5) and fifth in assists (14.2).
Leading Mercyhurst is the trio of Jayde Boyd, Julia Buchman and Grace Centrulla. Boyd leads the team with 11.6 ppg to go along with 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg and 1.1 spg. Buchman tallies 11.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 1.4 apg. Centrulla paces the Lakers in rebounds with 6.0 rpg as well as 10.9 ppg and 1.4 apg.
In two games last season against Slippery Rock, Boyd averaged 10 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2 apg and 1.5 spg, Buchman tallied 16 ppg, 3.5 apg, 0.5 rpg and 0.5 spg while Centrulla had 13 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg, 1.5 bpg and 1 spg.
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock returns home to host Edinboro in a PSAC West contest 5:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at Morrow Field House. Wednesday's contest will be a celebration and memorial for the late Bobby McGraw.
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).
