BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team fell to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division's Bloomsburg University Huskies on the road Saturday, 64-48.
 
SRU's first true road loss of the year drops The Rock to a 4-5 overall record, a mark that includes a 2-2 start to PSAC competition. The Huskies improve to 5-3 on the season and pick up their first conference win, now 1-2 within PSAC play.
 
SRU overcame an early 13-4 deficit to take a one-point edge into halftime but was overcome by Bloomsburg's 65.4 percent shooting in the second half (17-of-26) that allowed the Huskies to pull away.
 
Regan Atkins and Mairan Haggerty both scored 15 points for The Rock, a career-high for Haggerty. Atkins added five rebounds and an SRU-best two steals, while Haggerty recorded two rebounds and an assist. Kayley Joseph-Bernard was Slippery Rock's top rebounder with seven boards to go with four points and a block.
 
Tahmala Thorpe notched nine points and two rebounds, while Anye Washington (3 points), Hallie Raabe (2 points, 1 rebound), Alyssa Gillin (5 rebounds) and Rebecca Goetz (2 rebounds) all made contributions for SRU. Deryn Moye aided with an assist and a steal.
 
SRU used a 10-0 run in the first quarter to get past an early nine-point deficit and take a 14-13 lead into the second quarter. A layup from Thorpe extended that Slippery Rock run to 12-0. Both sides totaled 13 points in the second quarter with Joseph-Bernard hitting a hook shot at the buzzer to lift The Rock to a 27-26 halftime advantage.
 
The Rock and the Huskies exchanged leads early in the second half with Bloomsburg pulling ahead quickly by three. SRU answered with a 9-0 run that featured six points from Atkins, but a 14-0 run in response from Bloomsburg propelled the Huskies to a 48-38 lead after three quarters of play. BU paced play with a 16-10 tilt through the fourth quarter to come away with its 16-point win.
 
Slippery Rock concluded the contest shooting 34.5 percent from the floor (19-of-55) with a 21.4 percent clip from 3-point territory (3-of-14). The Rock made 7-of-8 free throws (87.5 percent) with Haggerty going 4-for-4. SRU suffered from a -8 rebounding margin (37-29), while both teams committed 13 turnovers.
 
Bloomsburg hit 46.4 percent of its field goal attempts (26-of-56) and 27.8 percent of its 3-point chances (5-of-18). The Huskies went 7-of-10 at the foul line. A 10-of-15 showing from Katelin Starr that produced 21 points led Bloomsburg in the scoring column. Her eight rebounds were a team-high for the Huskies as well.
 
Slippery Rock will next enjoy a 10-day break away from competition before returning to the court 3 p.m. Dec. 17 against Mansfield University at Morrow Field House.





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