SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team will look to extend its winning streak to three games with a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division win over Clarion 1 p.m. Saturday.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and in-game statistics will be provided for Saturday's game by the Clarion Sports Information department at the links below
GAME 20 DETAILS
Opponent: Clarion
Date: Saturday – 1 p.m.
Location: Tippin Gymnasium – Clarion, Pennsylvania
Live Video: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Update: Twitter (
@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: SRU leads 55-43
Last Played: Feb. 2, 2022 (Clarion won 66-61)
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. CLARION
Slippery Rock leads Clarion in the all-time series 55-43. The Rock have won five of their last eight games against the Golden Eagles but all three of the losses during that time have been on the road at Tippin Gymnasium.
SRU LAST YEAR vs. CLARION (2 GAMES)
Kennedy Middleton: 13.5 Points, 6.0 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists, 1.5 Steals, 0.5 Blocks
Deleah Gibson: 6.0 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 0.5 Steals
Bella Long: 4.5 Points, 1.5 Rebounds, 0.5 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.5 Blocks
Kaylin Venick: 3.0 Points, 1.5 Rebounds, 1.5 Steals
Emily Venick: 1.5 Points
Kelley McKnight: 1.0 Points, 2.0 Rebounds
Isabellah Middleton (1 Game): 13 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Steal
LAST MEETING
Slippery Rock was defeated 66-61 on the road by Clarion Feb. 2, 2022. The Rock was led by
Kennedy Middleton who scored a game-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals and one assist.
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
Overall Record: 11-8
PSAC West Record: 6-7
PSAC West Standings: Eighth
Home Record: 6-3
Away Record: 4-4
Neutral Record: 1-1
Last Five Games: 3-2
Streak: W2
Acting Head Coach: Chenara Wilson | First year at SRU (11-8)
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock upset Indiana University (Pa.) 52-48, snapping a 29-game series losing streak to the Crimson Hawks, in a thrilling PSAC West contest Wednesday at Morrow Field House.
Isabellah Middleton led all scorers for the night with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, two assists and one steal. Gibson also ended the game in double figures with 16 points, five rebounds four steals, two blocks and one assist.
FIRST YEAR WINS FOR WILSON
After leading The Rock to a 2-0 start to the week, Acting Head Coach
Chenara Wilson has now tied the late Bobby McGraw and Genevive McCreary for fifth on the list of wins by a first-year coach in program history.
If SRU were to complete the 3-0 sweep of games this week with a win over Clarion, Wilson would gain sole possession of fifth on the list. Kathy Walton holds the record for wins by a coach in their first season at SRU with 20 in 1982-83.
APPLYING PRESSURE
SRU exemplified one of its strongest defensive performances while facing IUP Wednesday. As a team, The Rock used 13 steals to help force the Crimson Hawks into a season-high 29 turnovers.
Playing a role in prompting the Indiana miscues and making at least one steal were Gibson (4),
Alyssa Gillin (3),
Kennedy Middleton (2),
Kaylin Venick (2),
Isabellah Middleton (1) and
Emily Venick (1).
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Slippery Rock registered a season-high seven blocks over Indiana (Pa.) Wednesday. Leading the way in rejections was Gillin, a freshman forward, with a season-best three followed by Gibson with two and
Kennedy Middleton and
Kaylin Venick with one apiece.
FOUL SHOT FEVER
The Rock have shown poise at the charity stripe over their last two contests as they have shot 85 percent (34-of-40). SRU made a season-high 91.3 percent (21-of-23) versus Lock Haven University before shooting 76.5 percent (13-of-17) against IUP.
Leading the way for such a strong free throw performance over two games was four SRU starters in Gibson (17-of-19),
Isabellah Middleton (10-of-11)
Kennedy Middleton (3-of-3) and
Kaylin Venick (3-of-3).
ROCK SOLID REBOUNDING
Slippery Rock struggled with allowing its competitors to collect second chances via offensive rebounds for much of the season. As of late, SRU has corrected the issue as after allowing 36 offensive rebounds in its first two games of the season The Rock have only allowed 18 total over their two most recent contests.
CLOSE CALLS
SRU has come out victorious in its close contests this season as it holds a 7-1 record in games decided by five points or less.
•
Davis & Elkins: W, 79-75
•
Ursuline: W, 66-62
•
Malone: W, 60-58
•
Fairmont State: W, 86-82
•
Mercyhurst: W, 60-58
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Edinboro: L, 63-67
•
Lock Haven: W, 61-57
•
Indiana (Pa.): W, 52-48
ROCK ROSTER
•
Isabellah Middleton paces SRU with 16.9 ppg and has broken out of a three-game slump of not being able to shoot over 25 percent having shot 42.1 percent (8-of-19) against IUP. She rounds out her averages with 8.5 rpg, 1.9 spg and 1.4 apg.
• Gibson showcased one of her best defensive efforts for SRU Wednesday when she tallied four steals and two blocks against the Crimson Hawks. She has per game averages of 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.3 assists while shooting a team-high 85.7 percent from the foul line.
•
Kennedy Middleton, one of The Rock's most consistent contributors, enters the weekend with a stat line of 12.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.2 apg and 1.7 spg. She has tallied nine double-doubles this season which ranks 19th in all of Division II.
•
Jordan Kauffman, a starter of The Rocks six most recent games, has settled into the lineup while averaging 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
•
Kaylin Venick has stepped up as of late to contribute sizably in SRU's defensive efforts. After making just one steal in her first three games, Venick has now tallied seven total takeaways over the last three contests. Additionally, she averages 3.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg and 1.0 apg.
•
Bella Long has made two or more 3-pointers in five of her 14 games played this year. Overall, she scores 5.9 ppg with 54 of her 83 points scored this year coming from 3-point range.
•
Kelley McKnight, a starter of 13 games this season, has served as a key reserve in recent games as she comes of the bench to average 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
• Rounding out SRU's rotation is
Alyssa Gillin (2.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg) and
Emily Venick (0.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 1.3 apg).
PSAC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
•
Free Throw Percentage: Deleah Gibson – 2nd (.857)
•
Steals Per Game: Deleah Gibson – t-2nd (2.4)
•
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – t-4th (6.5)
•
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: Kennedy Middleton – t-4th (6.5)
•
Points Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – 4th (16.9)
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Rebounds Per Game: Kennedy Middleton – 5th (8.6)
•
Rebounds Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – t-6th (8.5)
•
Assists Per Game: Kennedy Middleton – t-9th (3.2)
•
Points Per Game: Deleah Gibson – 12th (14.9)
•
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Kennedy Middleton – t-13th (2.1)
•
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Isabellah Middleton – t-13th (2.1)
PSAC TEAM RANKINGS
•
Opponent 3-Point Percentage: 2nd (.273)
•
Rebounds Per Game: 4th (40.0)
•
Steals Per Game: 4th (9.6)
•
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 5th (27.0)
• Opponent Field Goal Percentage: 6th (.386)
•
Opponent Turnovers: 6th (18.5)
•
Turnover Margin: 9th (+1.05)
•
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 9th (13.0)
•
3-Pointers Per Game: 10th (5.6)
•
Scoring: 11th (63.3)
•
Free Throw Percentage: 11th (.701)
CLARION PRIMER
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
Overall Record: 3-15
PSAC West Record: 3-10
PSAC West Standings: Ninth
Home Record: 3-6
Away Record: 0-8
Neutral Record: 0-1
Last Five Games: 0-5
Streak: L5
Head Coach: Jermaine Cooper | First year at Clarion (3-15)
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Last Time Out: Clarion fell 78-43 in a conference contest to Mercyhurst University Wednesday at Tippin Gymnasium.
The duo of Sierra Bermudez and Jada Smith spearhead the Golden Eagle roster with Bermudez averaging 11.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game while Smith tallies 8.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.8 assists per contest.
In two games last season against The Rock, Bermudez averaged 13.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 1.0 spg. In one contest last season against SRU, Smith registered 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock enters the second half of its PSAC West schedule when it travels to No. 8 Gannon University 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1. Earlier this season, the Golden Knights defeated The Rock 75-59 at Morrow Field House.
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).
