SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team will play two road games in three games by going to Indiana University (Pa.) 1 p.m. Saturday and Edinboro 5:30 p.m. Monday.
 
Coming off their first win in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division against Clarion, The Rock enter with a 2-12 overall record and a 2-9 mark within PSAC competition. The Crimson Hawks of IUP come in at 12-4 overall and 8-3 in the conference, while Edinboro enters the weekend at 9-7 on the season and 7-4 inside the PSAC.
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch both games live and on-demand for free via the links below provided by IUP Strategic Communications and Edinboro Athletic Communications.

GAME 16 OF 25
Opponent: Edinboro
Date: Monday – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Venue: McComb Fieldhouse
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Edinboro Athletic Communications
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: Slippery Rock leads, 57-56
Last Played: Feb. 11, 2023 (SRU won, 78-63)

SERIES HISTORY vs. EDINBORO
Monday will be the 114^th all-time meeting between The Rock and the Fighting Scots, a series that SRU holds a very narrow 57-56 advantage in. Slippery Rock's most recent win ended a 10-game winning streak for Edinboro. Two of The Rock's last four victories against Edinboro have come on the road.

LAST MEETING WITH THE FIGHTING SCOTS
Slippery Rock powered back from an early 14-point deficit to defeat Edinboro 78-63 on the road Feb. 11, 2023. Despite trailing 23-11 at the end of the first quarter, The Rock outscored the Fighting Scots in the second period, 25-13, before pouring out 42 second-half points in the victory.
 
Gibson double-doubled with a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Jada Ward added 17 points off the bench. The Rock shot 29-of-69 (.420) throughout the game while outrebounding Edinboro, 45-34.
 
WHERE THEY STAND

TEAM COMPARISON (as of Jan. 26)
THE ROCK	STAT	CRIMSON HAWKS	FIGHTING SCOTS
52.8 (17th)	Points per Game	71.5 (4th)	71.4 (5th)
67.8 (13th)	Opp. Points per Game	57.8 (4th)	69.4 (14th)
.355 (17th)	Field Goal Pct.	.445 (2nd)	.415 (6th)
.445 (17th)	Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.384 (8th)	.416 (14th)
.223 (18th)	3-Point Pct.	.302 (8th)	.317 (4th)
.306 (12th)	Opp 3-Point Pct.	.295 (9th)	.340 (17th)
4.5 (13th)	3-Pointers Made per Game	5.3 (11th)	6.1 (8th)
.684 (14th)	Free Throw Pct.	.670 (17th)	.744 (4th)
30.4 (18th)	Rebounds per Game	39.6 (6th)	34.3 (13th)
39.6 (16th)	Opp. Rebounds per Game	32.1 (2nd)	37.1 (10th)
-9.2 (17th)	Rebounding Margin	+7.6 (3rd)	-2.8 (13th)
10.6 (14th)	Assists	15.2 (3rd)	11.6 (13th)
-0.9 (11th)	Turnover Margin	+3.4 (2nd)	+3.4 (3rd)
7.6 (11th)	Steals	10.8 (1st)	9.3 (5th)
1.0 (18th)	Blocks	2.3 (15th)	4.4 (3rd)
Per game averages (Rank in PSAC)

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 2-12
PSAC Record: 2-9
PSAC West Standings: 8^th
Home Record: 2-6
Away Record: 0-6
Streak: W1
Last Five Games: 1-4
Head Coach: Ryenn Micaletti | First season at SRU (2-12)
Roster: Link
Stats: Link

LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock claimed its second victory of the season with a 62-60 home win Jan. 24 against Clarion. Regan Atkins dropped a career-high 23 points and solidified the first double-double of her collegiate campaign with 10 rebounds.
 
Slippery Rock trailed by 10 points with 6:44 to play in the third quarter but soared past the Golden Eagles with a go-ahead 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter. Clarion had the final 14 seconds to vanquish a four-point deficit but found just a layup at the buzzer to edit the score to a two-point difference.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Atkins has increased her season average in points per game in each of her last four outings. Now up to 15.9 points per game on the season, Atkins has averaged 20.3 points per game in the last two weeks of play. In that span, Atkins has averaged 49.1 percent from the floor while making 6.8 field goals per game.
 
Endya Robinson is the team's leading rebounder with 5.7 rebounds per game on the year. In the last four games, the Chicago native has averaged 8.3 boards per contest.
 
While Emily Venick's 1.7 assists is tops for SRU, team captain Kaylin Venick has led the charge in takeaways with 1.4 steals per game. 
 
ATKINS IN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY  
While Atkins continues to impress on Slippery Rock's roster, she has maintained her position as the top scoring freshman in the PSAC with 15.9 points per game. Overall, Atkins has climbed to 10^th in the conference and sixth in the PSAC West.
 
Points per game among all PSAC freshmen:
1. Regan Atkins, Slippery Rock (15.9)
2. Katie Sheeler, Mansfield University (10.5)
3. Autumn Taylor, Clarion (9.9)
4. Kara Wehner, Shepherd University (8.9)
5. Bella Chimienti, Shippensburg University (8.8) 
Atkins also ranks third nationally among all true freshmen in Division II. Her 15.9 points per game puts her 106^th in total.
 
Points per game among all Division II freshmen:
1. Zuriyah Davis, University of West Georgia (18.5)
2. Jahnel Lewis, Caldwell University (16.2)
3. Regan Atkins, Slippery Rock (15.9)
4. Taylor Haggan, St. Mary's University (Texas) (14.9)
5. Katie Yoder, Goldey-Beacom College (14.9) 

In terms of accuracy, Atkins is one of just four freshmen in Division II that has shot above 50 percent on the season. She has made 50 percent of her shots from the floor in five of her last six games. 
 
Through Division I, II and III combined, Atkins is one of just 15 women's basketball players in the nation that has shot greater than 50 percent on the year.
 
Field goal percentage among all Division II freshmen:
1. Atreonia Garner, Clark Atlanta University (58.8%)
2. Ryan Franklin, Missouri Southern State University (52.5%)
3. Regan Atkins, Slippery Rock (52.2%)
4. Ane Valle, Felician University (50.7%)
5. Taylor Haggan, St. Mary's University (Texas) (48.5%) 

A MONUMENTAL NIGHT FOR THE FIRST-YEAR PLAYERS
Both Atkins and Robinson recorded season-highs against Clarion, scoring 23 and 14 points, respectively. Previously, Atkins had scored 20 points on two occasions, both within the three games prior in matchups against California (Pa.) and Pitt-Johnstown.
 
Robinson had previously scored 12 points against Shepherd University before topping that against the Golden Eagles. While at John A. Logan College last season, Robinson reached double figures nine times including a 22-point performance against Olney Central College.
 
SOLID FROM THE STRIPE
In her last four games, Atkins has gone 24-of-28 (.857) at the foul line, including back-to-back perfect games where she made all six attempts at the stripe. In that span, Atkins made 18 consecutive free throws, which ties her for 13^th all-time in SRU history. Kory Fielitz rattled off 31 straight free throws in the 1993-94 season.
 
As a collective, Slippery Rock has shot 39-of-47 (.830) at the free throw line in the last four games. That included a 12-of-12 performance at the charity stripe against Pitt-Johnstown, marking SRU's first perfect free throw-shooting day since Feb. 6, 2023 at Cal, a span of 18 games.
 
ROCK STARS OF RECENT
• In Atkins' first career double-double, the New Castle, Pennsylvania native also made a career-high seven free throws, going 7-of-9 (.778) at the line. She is just the second SRU player this year to make seven free throws in a game, joining Kristina Donza's 7-of-7 performance against Salem University.
 
• Robinson recorded her first block while at SRU against Clarion, becoming the sixth different player on the team with a block this season.
 
• Kaylin Venick recorded a career-high five assists in SRU's win over Clarion, bringing her career total to 51 assists.
 
• Deryn Moye tied personal-bests with both three assists and two free throws. The sophomore logged three assists at West Chester University and made two free throws against Gannon University earlier this season.
 
• Kelley McKnight recorded a steal versus Clarion for the third time this season and the 11^th time in her career.
 
• Atkins' eight field goals tied a team-high on the season. All three occurrences of an SRU player making eight field goals in a game have come from Atkins, joining an 8-of-15 performance at Malone University and an 8-of-12 outing against Shepherd.
 
• Atkins also broke the team's record this season with five offensive rebounds. Previously, a player had recorded three offensive rebounds in a game five separate times.  
 
SECOND HALF COMEBACKS
Slippery Rock is coming off its first win of the season when trailing at halftime. Facing a 28-23 deficit through the first 20 minutes, The Rock outscored Clarion 39-32 in the second half to come away with a 62-60 result.
 
The game marked the third time in six seasons that Slippery Rock has come from behind when trailing a PSAC West school at halftime. The Rock overcame a 33-32 deficit at Mercyhurst University last year in a 60-58 victory and came back from a 26-23 disadvantage at Pitt-Johnstown to claim a 64-60 win Jan. 17, 2018.
 
SEEING DOUBLE
Both Emily Venick and Kaylin Venick started for Slippery Rock against Clarion. While the sisters have combined for 44 starts in their three years at SRU, this marked just the eighth time that both have appeared in the same starting five. With the win, Slippery Rock is now 4-4 all-time with both Rices Landing, Pennsylvania natives in the starting lineup.
 
PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF
Slippery Rock claimed its season-high in second chance points against Clarion with 17 points. The Rock tallied 17 second-chance points four times last year, putting up 17 points against Edinboro and Seton Hill University, while posting 20 second chance points versus Fairmont State University and Mansfield University.
 
RECORD WATCH
Atkins has now amassed 223 points in her freshman circuit, which ranks 15^th all-time among freshmen at Slippery Rock. She is now just 36 points away from breaking into the top 10 with 259 points.
 
Atkins will reach the top five in most points by a freshman at Slippery Rock if she averages 11.5 points per game for the rest of the season. She would need to average 22 points per game through the final 11 games to break Slippery Rock's record of 465 points scored by Becky Siembak in the 1999-2000 season.
 
Having played 513 minutes on the season, Atkins is also just 18 minutes away from entering the top 10 in all-time minutes played by a freshman at SRU. Atkins will become the all-time leader in time played as a freshman should she averaged 28.8 minutes per game through the remainder of the season. 
 
Atkins' current 52.2 field goal percentage would rank second among freshmen all-time behind Siembak's 59.9 percent average from 1999-2000. To enter the top 10 all-time regardless of class, Atkins would need to end the year shooting at least 52.9 percent from the floor. 

THE FIGHTING SCOTS BY THE NUMBERS (as of Jan. 26)
Overall Record: 9-17
PSAC Record: 7-4
PSAC West Standings: 5^th
Home Record: 5-3
Away Record: 4-4
Streak: W1
Last Five Games: 2-3
Head Coach: Callie Wheeler | Fifth season at Edinboro (77-51, .602)
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
 
EDINBORO SCOUTING REPORT
After a tough non-conference schedule that saw Edinboro go 2-3, the Fighting Scots have rebounded with a 7-4 mark inside the PSAC. Edinboro has run into some recent struggles, though, losing three of its last four games in losses to Gannon, Pitt-Johnstown and Mercyhurst.
 
The leading scorer for the Fighting Scots is junior Hayley Sims, whose 17.9 points per game rank fourth in the PSAC. Morgan Gentile joins her in double digits with 14.9 points per game. The Athens, Pennsylvania native is also fifth in the conference with 2.1 steals per game.
 
Gillian Fisher of Sharon, Pennsylvania is the team's top rebounder with five boards per game. As a team, the Fighting Scots enter the weekend with a -2.8 rebounding margin that ranks seventh in the PSAC West.
 
Edinboro's offense ranks fifth in the conference with 71.4 points per game. On the flip side of that, Edinboro's defense ranks behind Slippery Rock by allowing 69.4 points per game. The Fighting Scots have still fared well defensively in key moments, ranking third in the conference with a +3.4 turnover margin. Edinboro's 4.4 blocks per game is also third in the PSAC.
 
Before hosting Slippery Rock 5:30 p.m. Monday, Edinboro will welcome in Seton Hill 1 p.m. Saturday at home.

LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will follow up its two-game road trip with a two-game homestand beginning 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 when it goes up against Mercyhurst at Morrow Field House. SRU swept the Lakers last year, edging Mercyhurst on the road, 60-58, before picking up a 67-52 win at home. The game will also be Slippery Rock's Rock Athletic Club Game this season.




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