Roster   |   Schedule   |   2022-23 Statistics
 
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team was voted eighth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division in the 2023-24 preseason coaches' poll, the conference office announced Thursday.
 
Reigning PSAC Tournament champions California (Pa.) topped the PSAC West in the poll, receiving five first-place votes. In second, Gannon University received two first place votes while Indiana University (Pa.) received one first-place vote in third place. Edinboro slotted into fourth in front of Pitt-Johnstown, the final team in the PSAC West to receive a first-place vote.
 
Slippery Rock filed behind Seton Hill University and Mercyhurst University, who claimed the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Clarion rounded out the PSAC West in ninth.
 
In the Eastern Division, West Chester University's eight first-place votes bolstered the Golden Rams to the top, right in front of Kutztown University in second, which received one first place vote.
 
Slippery Rock concluded the 2022 campaign with an overall record of 15-13, going 10-12 within the PSAC, which placed The Rock just one win shy of qualifying for the PSAC Tournament. SRU won three of its last five games of the season, finishing the year 7-6 both on the road and at its home court at Morrow Field House. 
 
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINE
Ryenn Micaletti was officially named the 17^th head coach in Slippery Rock program history on May 12, 2023. Micaletti, a former SRU assistant, returns to The Rock with a dozen years of collegiate experience that features seven years at the Division I level with the U.S. Navy Academy, Longwood University and St. Louis University.
 
Micaletti became familiar with PSAC West basketball while she was a student-athlete at Seton Hill, later serving as an assistant coach for both Slippery Rock and IUP. A native of New Castle, Pennsylvania, Micaletti also spent time working with the coaching staff at Point Park University, where she earned her master's degree.
 
Slippery Rock also welcomes first-year assistant coach Christian Harbaugh, who brings with him an impressive resume in basketball at various levels.
 
Harbaugh comes to The Rock after serving as an assistant coach for the Butler County Community College men's team, which went 20-4 a season ago and won a WPCC Tournament title and a Region 20 championship on the way to being ranked seventh in the year-end National Junior College Athletic Association rankings.
 
Rounding out Micaletti's first coaching staff at The Rock is graduate assistant Deleah Gibson, a former SRU standout who was one of the team's top players a year ago. 
 
Slippery Rock's 2023-24 roster features 17 student-athletes, eight of which are returners from a season ago. SRU will be tasked with replacing 82.2 percent of its scoring production from a season ago.
 
THE ROCK'S RETURNERS
While only playing seven games last year before missing the remainder of the season due to injury, redshirt junior guard Kristina Donza is the top returning scorer from last year. Now fully healthy, Donza, who shot 41.2 percent in limited three-point attempts last season, looks to improve on her 2022-23 per game averages of 6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
 
Appearing in every game last season, junior forward Kelley McKnight returns to her post at forward. McKnight comes back after averaging 3.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, shooting .356 from the field and .833 from the foul line. McKnight missed only four free throws last year, going 20-of-24.
 
Adding to the returning juniors are guards Emily Venick and Kaylin Venick. The sisters combined for 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game a season ago with Kaylin starting 22 of 27 games.
 
Alyssa Gillin is the squad's top scoring returning sophomore, coming off a rookie year in which the Monaca, Pennsylvania native averaged 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team in blocked shots with 10.
 
The remainder of The Rock's sophomore class consists of forward Arianna Mitchell, guard Tori Johnson and forward Hallie Raabe. Mitchell and Johnson appeared in nine and five games, respectively, as freshmen while Raabe redshirted. Over her nine games, Mitchell provided SRU with 4.4 rebounds per game as well as six blocks.
 
WELCOME TO THE ROCK
Slippery Rock welcomes in nine newcomers to the team, comprised of four true freshmen, a first-year sophomore and four transfers.
 
Slippery Rock's quartet of true freshmen include forward Hannah Artley (Blairsville, Pennsylvania), guard Regan Atkins (New Castle, Pennsylvania), guard Sophia Hook (Brookfield, Ohio) and guard Anye Washington (Philadelphia).
 
Additionally, sophomore guard Deryn Moye of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania officially joins the active Slippery Rock roster for the upcoming season.
 
Ribeirao Preto, Brazil native Duda Raimundo, a junior guard, comes to The Rock after spending two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, where her team combined for a 53-10 record during her tenure.
 
Junior forward Endya Robinson of Chicago joins SRU after spending her freshman year at Division II Miles College and her sophomore year at John A. Logan College. At John A. Logan, Robinson averaged 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
 
Redshirt junior guard Gabby Jackson played three years at Lackawanna College before joining Slippery Rock. Jackson started a total of 42 games for the Falcons, averaging 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
 
Jackson is accompanied by fellow redshirt junior guard Niya Moore, who played 22 games at Frostburg State University in 2020 before transferring to Slippery Rock.
 
THE ROADMAP AHEAD
Slippery Rock will travel just over 3,000 miles round-trip this season, kicking off the year with trips to Division I opponents Youngstown State University and Wright State University for exhibitions.
 
The Rock's non-conference opponents will include their season-opener against Ursuline College 12 p.m. Nov. 18, followed by road trips to Malone University (Nov. 28) and a home contest with Salem University (Dec. 14).
 
Slippery Rock will commence conference play by facing six PSAC East teams in crossover contests. The Green and White will first go on their longest hike of the season to West Chester and Millersville (Dec. 1-2) before returning home to face off against Shepherd and Shippensburg (Dec. 18-19). SRU will also play at Lock Haven (Dec. 30) and host Kutztown (Jan. 3).
 
SRU's PSAC West schedule is comprised of a double round-robin format:
 
Seton Hill (Jan. 6: Away / Feb. 3: Home)
California (Jan. 13: Home / Feb. 10: Away)
Gannon (Jan. 17: Home / Feb. 14: Away)
Pitt-Johnstown (Jan. 20: Away / Feb. 17: Home)
Clarion (Jan. 24: Home / Feb. 21: Away)
Indiana (Jan. 27: Away / Feb. 24: Home)
Edinboro (Jan. 29: Away / Feb. 28: Home)
Mercyhurst (Jan. 31: Home / Mar. 2: Away)
 
The top six teams in the division standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the PSAC Tournament which opens March 4. Slippery Rock will look to qualify for the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2017-18.
 
2023-24 PSAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
(First-Place votes)
WEST
1. California (5)
2. Gannon (2)
3. IUP (1)
4. Edinboro
5. Pitt-Johnstown (1)
6. Seton Hill
7. Mercyhurst
8. THE ROCK
9. Clarion
 
EAST
1. West Chester (8)
2. Kutztown (1)
3. Shippensburg
4. Bloomsburg
5. East Stroudsburg
6. Lock Haven
7. Millersville
8. Mansfield
9. Shepherd
 



To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).