MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team scored 50 points in the second half after being down by as many as 27 in the second quarter, but came up short Saturday at Millersville University, 83-71.
 
With the result, Slippery Rock falls to 0-4 overall with an 0-2 mark within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Marauders claimed their second win on the year, improving to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
 
Kristina Donza reached a career-high with a team-leading 19 points on the day, coupled with four rebounds and two assists.
 
True freshman Regan Atkins impressed once again, tallying 18 points while leading the team on the boards by matching a personal-best seven rebounds. Atkins joined sisters Emily Venick and Kaylin Venick in chipping in with three assists apiece. She additionally recorded the first two blocks of her career.
 
After her SRU debut Friday at West Chester University, Anye Washington saw increased time and rose to the occasion once again, tallying 18 points and five rebounds in just 19 minutes. While Slippery Rock had recorded just two blocks in its first three games, The Rock denied five shots against Millersville, led by Washington's three blocks.
 
Endya Robinson, who shot 3-of-5 from the floor for six shots, started for Slippery Rock once again and met Kaylin Venick in adding two steals each.
 
SRU got off to a slow start, trailing 22-8 after the first quarter after allowing an 8-0 run in the opening 3:24. Millersville continued to accelerate through the second quarter, growing its lead over The Rock to 38-11 with 3:52 remaining in the half. Slippery Rock trailed at the half, 42-21.
 
Slippery Rock more than doubled its score in the next 10 minutes, outscoring its opponent in the third quarter for the first time this season. After shooting 17.6 percent from the field in the first half, The Rock improved to 50 percent in the second half, going 10-of-20 in both the third and fourth quarters.
 
Washington led The Rock in the second half, recording 15 of her 18 points in the final 20 minutes by shooting 5-of-10 from the floor and knocking down two 3-pointers.
 
The Rock outscored Millersville in the final period, 26-19, thanks in large part to a 15-3 run late in the quarter that was highlighted by Atkins, Donza, Washington and Deryn Moye. Albeit a tenacious effort, Millersville's early start cushioned the effort to secure an 83-71 result.
 
Millersville saw three of its players reach double digits, led by Marin Miller's 17 and followed by Morgan Mahoney's 16 and Jabria Ingram's 14. Aila Miler led the Marauders with seven rebounds, as Millersville outrebounded The Rock, 43-37.
 
Slippery Rock shot 26-of-74 (35.1 percent) from the court, going 8-of-35 (22.9 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. SRU converted 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
MU concluded the day shooting 48.3 percent from the floor (28-of-58), 57.1 percent from 3-point range (4-of-7) and 79.3 percent (23-of-29) from the free throw line.  
 
The Green and White return to action after 12 days away from competition, hosting Division II independent Salem University in a non-conference matchup 5:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at Morrow Field House.



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