SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. –  The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team opened its conference slate with a 69-56 home victory over West Chester University Friday at Morrow Field House.
 
SRU's first home win of the season improves The Rock's overall record to 3-2, a mark that features a 1-0 showing within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Golden Rams fall to 1-4 overall with an 0-1 start to PSAC play.
 
Slippery Rock held a narrow lead from its first basket of the game until West Chester fought back and eked ahead by single-possession edges in the third quarter. SRU hit six of its nine field goal attempts (66.7 percent) and knocked down seven of eight free throws (87.5 percent) in the fourth quarter to pull away to its eventual 13-point win.
 
Tahmala Thorpe led The Rock with 17 points, adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal while shooting 50 percent from the floor (5-of-10). Regan Atkins contributed 16 points with a 4-for-7 showing from the floor, pulling down seven rebounds and recording three assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
10 points came from both Alyssa Gillin and Sophia Hook, two players who each registered one rebound as well. Rebecca Goetz came away with a team-leading nine rebounds in addition to her four points, one steal and one assist. Kayley Joseph-Bernard fared well off the boards as well with eight rebounds.
 
Deryn Moye (5 points, 2 rebounds), Mairan Haggerty (2 points), Kaylin Venick (2 points, 1 rebound) and Brooklyn Jones (1 point, 1 rebound) rounded out SRU's 10 scorers. Joseph-Bernard led Slippery Rock with five assists and three steals.
 
SRU was held without a bucket for the first 3:01 of the contest, but a 3-pointer from Gillin put The Rock ahead, 3-2. That sparked a 10-0 run for SRU that was bookended by another Gillin triple, spurring The Rock ahead to a 10-2 lead through the first six minutes.
 
West Chester ended the first quarter with seven of the final nine points to cut Slippery Rock's lead to 14-11.
 
Slippery Rock benefitted from a 9-0 run midway in the second quarter that propelled itself out to a 27-15 lead. WCU again surged late in the frame with 11 of the final 13 points of the first half to draw the lead back down to just 31-28 heading into the locker rooms.
 
Atkins, Hook and Thorpe all splashed 3-pointers home for The Rock in the third quarter, a period in which The Rock outscored the Golden Rams, 17-16. West Chester took momentary one-basket leads late in the quarter, but an and-1 play that Thorpe converted as time expired sprung SRU ahead to a 48-44 advantage.
 
Nine of Thorpe's SRU-high 17 points occurred in the fourth quarter. Slippery Rock took advantage of its trips to the free throw line with Thorpe winding up going 6-for-6 from the stripe. The Rock only held a six-point lead with 3:15 left in the game but gradually increased the margin to a game-high 13-point difference by the final buzzer.
 
SRU continued its streak of never shooting below 43 percent on the season, hitting 22 of its 47 attempts to rattle off a 46.8 percent clip. The Rock went 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from the 3-point arc and did well at the free throw line, going 17-for-21 (81.0 percent). The Rock claimed the win despite a -1 rebound margin (34-33) and a -7 turnover deficit (20-13).
 
West Chester shot 36.1 percent from the floor (22-of-61) with a 2-for-14 showing from deep (14.3 percent). The Golden Rams did excel in their free throw chances, converting 83.3 percent (10-of-12). Michelle Kozicki led WCU with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Anna McTamney tallied eight points and a team-best nine rebounds.
 
Slippery Rock will see a quick turnaround with part two of its PSAC crossover opener coming by way of a home game versus Millersville University 1 p.m. Saturday at Morrow Field House.





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