KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Alyssa Gillin and Kayley Joseph-Bernard became the first Slippery Rock University women's basketball duo to double-double in the same game since November 27, 2022, as The Rock fended off a late Kutztown University charge to down the Golden Bears, 64-57, Friday on the road.
 
The Rock are back to .500 on the season with a 4-4 overall record, now 2-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Golden Bears fall to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in PSAC competition.
 
Gillin led The Rock offensively with 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds, while Joseph-Bernard produced 14 points and 13 rebounds on top of five assists and a block. Isabellah Middleton (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Kennedy Middleton (12 points, 10 rebounds) last achieved the feat for SRU in an 86-82 win over Fairmont State University 55 games ago.
 
Slippery Rock held a 13-point lead with 6:13 left in the game, but Kutztown went on a 7-0 run to cut the difference to six points. The Golden Bears trailed by just five points with 40 seconds to play but The Rock were able to pull away with 12 of their final 14 points coming at the foul line.
 
Mairan Haggerty scored 10 points thanks to three 3-pointers while reeling in five rebounds. She additionally picked up an assist, a block and a steal in her first career start for SRU. Tahmala Thorpe matched Joseph-Bernard's five assists with a handful of her own. Thorpe also registered nine points and a rebound.
 
Regan Atkins chimed in with four of SRU's 18 assists, totaling eight points, a rebound and one of The Rock's four blocks. Rebecca Goetz and Deryn Moye both added four points and one rebound. Hallie Raabe brought down a board to round out SRU's eight rebounders.
 
Two straight 3-pointers from Haggerty propelled The Rock out to a 14-6 lead in the first seven minutes, a cushion that was brought down to just a 16-14 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
 
Kutztown took a one-point lead with an early triple in the second quarter, but a 3-pointer from Thorpe in response brought Slippery Rock ahead, 19-17. SRU did not lose that lead for the final 39:08, and thanks in part to a 12-2 run midway through the second, went into halftime with a 30-25 edge.
 
Slippery Rock flexed its muscle defensively in the third quarter, holding the Golden Bears scoreless from the 5:55 mark on the clock until Kutztown hit a jumper at the buzzer to chip into SRU's lead and adjust the score to 43-32.
 
The Rock found their largest lead of the day by way of a 50-37 stronghold with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter, but Kutztown fought back until SRU was left with just a 60-55 gap with 40 seconds left. A 15-of-18 clip (83.3 percent) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter alone held the Golden Bears at bay to ensure SRU's seven-point win.
 
Slippery Rock went 45.7 percent from the floor (21-of-46), including a 50.0 percent effort in the first half (13-of-26). The Rock hit 5-of-16 shots from 3-point range (31.3 percent) and went 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) at the charity stripe. SRU earned a +5 rebounding margin (37-32), while the Golden Bears won the turnover battle, 12-10.
 
Kutztown shot 35.6 percent overall (21-of-59) with a similar 35.7 percent (10-of-28) look from the 3-point arc. KU split its free throw chances, making 5-of-10. KU was led offensively by Naia Pulliam's 18 points and four 3-pointers. Olivia Smelas racked up seven rebounds along with 13 points to lead the Golden Bears off the glass.
 
SRU will return to PSAC crossover action 1 p.m. Saturday at Bloomsburg University.





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