EDINBORO, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team powered back from an early 14-point deficit to defeat Edinboro, 78-63, on the road Saturday.
 
The victory, which was the first win by The Rock at Edinboro since 2009, improves SRU's record to 14-11 overall and 9-10 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The loss moves Edinboro's record to 15-8 overall and 12-6 in the league.
 
The win also keeps Slippery Rock's PSAC Tournament hopes alive as SRU is now just one game behind Seton Hill University for the sixth spot in the PSAC West standings. The top six teams in the Eastern and Western Divisions at the end of the year qualify for the conference tournament.
 
With three regular season games remaining in the season, SRU is now just one victory away from assuring itself of the first winning season for the program since going 15-12 in 2001-02.
 
Deleah Gibson paced Slippery Rock with her fourth 20-point performance over SRU's last six contest and first career double-double at SRU as she went for 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Gibson ended the contest shooting 8-of-14 from the floor, 5-of-8 from 3-point range and 4-of-5 from the foul line.
 
Jada Ward had a solid game as she tallied a career-high 17 points in addition to having five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Ward was a catalyst in SRU's second-half success with a 7-of-11 showing from the floor in addition to tallying all her points over the final two quarters.
 
Isabellah Middleton and Kennedy Middleton were the remaining Rock players to register double-digit points with 15 and 11, respectively, with each also grabbing eight rebounds. Kennedy Middleton also totaled two assists and two steals over the contest.
 
Rounding out Slippery Rock's leaders were Jordan Kauffman with six points, six rebounds and one assist as well as Kelley McKnight and Tori Johnson who each had two points while McKnight tacked on three rebounds, and one steal. Johnson's points were the first of her collegiate career.
 
The Fighting Scots dominated the first quarter of the contest as they extended their lead to as many as 14 points before taking a 23-11 lead into the second. However, the duo of Gibson and Kauffman ignited the Slippery Rock comeback in the second quarter as they combined to make five 3-pointers to help pull SRU even with Edinboro at 36-36 going into halftime.
 
Coming out of the break, The Rock claimed their first credible lead of the contest, at 43-38 with 8:20 left in the third, thanks to a 7-2 run to open the third quarter. The Fighting Scots went on to utilize an 8-3 run of their own to close the third tied with SRU once again at 53-53.
 
It was anyone's game as Slippery Rock and Edinboro opened the final 10 minutes of regulation trading baskets, with neither team leading by more than four points with 3:15 left to play.
 
However, The Rock went on to score 14 unanswered points over the conclusion of the contest to seal a 78-63 upset of the Fighting Scots.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock shot 42 percent (29-of-69) from the floor, 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from long range and 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the charity stripe. SRU held a +11 margin in rebounds (45-34) over Edinboro while both teams ended the game with 14 turnovers.
 
The Fighting Scots ended the game shooting 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor, 24 percent (6-of-25) from 3-point range and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the foul line. Bella Burrelli finished the contest with a team-high 17 points.
 
Slippery Rock plays its last road contest of the regular season when it travels to Indiana University (Pa.) for a key PSAC West matchup 1 p.m. Feb. 18. Earlier this year SRU napped a 29-game series losing streak to IUP with a 52-48 victory against the Crimson Hawks at Morrow Field House.






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