JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team lost a 69-67 double-overtime heartbreaker at Pitt-Johnstown Saturday.
 
Suffering their third overtime loss of the year, The Rock fall to 7-16 overall and 4-13 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. With Clarion having lost to No. 23 Gannon University Saturday, SRU is not mathematically eliminated from PSAC Tournament contention with the loss.
 
The result snaps a 10-game losing streak for the Mountain Cats, who improve to 3-21 on the year. The game also marked UPJ's first conference win of the season, now 1-16 in PSAC action.
 
Anye Washington tied a career-high 18 points to lead Slippery Rock offensively, paired with six steals, two rebounds and two assists. Her efforts include just the 15^th recorded occurrence of an SRU player collecting at least six steals in a single game.
 
Alyssa Gillin knocked down three 3-pointers and came away with 11 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Brooklyn Jones logged nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Deryn Moye added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Mairan Haggerty was SRU's top rebounder with eight boards and seven points.
 
Kayley Joseph-Bernard (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals), Sophia Hook (2 points), Hannah Pugliese (2 points, 3 rebounds), Rebecca Goetz (2 points, 3 rebounds) and Endya Robinson (2 points, 3 rebounds) rounded out SRU's stat sheet. All 10 players to touch the court for The Rock ended up contributing points.
 
Slippery Rock grabbed an 8-7 lead when Gillin connected on a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, but a small UPJ run gave the Mountain Cats an 11-8 edge heading into the second.
 
An 8-2 run midway through the second that was capped off by another Gillin 3-pointer propelled The Rock ahead, 20-19. Pitt-Johnstown made two free throws and held SRU scoreless through the final three minutes of the first half to earn a 21-20 advantage at the break.
 
Pitt-Johnstown found some early momentum in the third quarter but the final 2:25 of the period saw The Rock go on a 9-2 run to take a 37-32 lead into the fourth. The third quarter was bookended by a pair of baskets from Washington, who posted a team-leading six points through the frame.
 
The Mountain Cats clawed back into it with a 6-0 run that was halted with 3:59 left by a Jones 3-pointer. Two strong layups from Washington in the final 1:51 kept The Rock in it, and overtime was needed after UPJ missed a layup at the buzzer with the score tied, 53-53.
 
Defense prevailed for both sides in the first overtime period, as SRU and UPJ were only able to muster six points each. The Rock led 59-55 with 1:27 remaining but a pair of Pitt-Johnstown baskets knotted the contest again at 59-59. Slippery Rock had 0.4 seconds to turn an inbound into a game-winner but was unable to get the finish underneath the hoop.
 
A Pitt-Johnstown 3-pointer 41 seconds into the second overtime set the tone for the remainder of play until a 6-0 run entirely by Washington gave The Rock a 67-66 lead with 54 seconds left.
 
UPJ pulled back ahead with a quick layup before a flurry of midcourt turnovers ensued between the two teams. After a Pitt-Johnstown foul shot, SRU had 13 seconds on the clock to find a tying bucket down by two but needed a late timeout with just two seconds on the clock. UPJ blocked The Rock's final shot to secure the victory.
 
Slippery Rock shot 35.3 percent throughout the contest (24-of-68) and 29.2 percent from the 3-point arc (7-of-24). SRU also knocked down 85.7 percent at the free throw line (12-of-14). The Rock concluded the 50-minute game with a -4 rebounding margin (43-39) and a +5 difference in turnovers (22-17).
 
Pitt-Johnstown shot 41.7 percent from the floor (25-of-60), its best rate in 11 games. The Mountain Cats converted 3-of-18 (.167) from the perimeter and 16-of-22 (.727) at the charity stripe. Riley Childress joined Belle Bosch, who fouled out early in overtime, with 15 points. Lexi Margolis brought down a team-high eight rebounds, coupled with 10 points.
 
SRU will play a must-win game against Clarion 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at Morrow Field House with Senior Day festivities being celebrated prior to tipoff. The only remaining path to the PSAC Tournament requires The Rock to win their final three games in addition to Clarion losing its last two contests.





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