The Slippery Rock women’s basketball team dropped their first game of the season to Virginia State University 82-55 in game one of The Rock’s weekend road trip to Richmond, Virginia for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) CIAA Challenge.
Tip-off started at 7:00 p.m. and right our of the gate Virginia controlled the ball and was firing from all over the court to jump out to an early 13-2 lead in just the opening four minutes.
A late push in the later part of the first quarter and early second from The Rock aloud them to get back within reaching distance at 22-18 with a few minutes remaining in the first half, but Virginia was able to add more to their lead before the half’s end making the score 39-27 heading into halftime.
However, the Trojans never looked back as they stretched their lead to as many as 28 points in the second half on their way to a convincing 82-55 victory.
The leading scorer on the day for the Green and White was redshirt junior guard Ciara Patterson with 14 points while adding four rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal. Senior guard/forward Mallory Heinle kicked-off her final season with The Rock posting 13 points adding six rebounds and one block.
Newcomer, redshirt junior guard Madison Johnson, posted big numbers in her SRU debut as she racked up 12 points, four rebounds, and four steals. The first year Rock player spent her first two collegiate seasons at St. Francis University.
Overall, The Rock shot 27.5 percent from the field, while going 17.2 percent (5-29) from the three point line and 12-19 from the foul line. On the defensive side of the court, the Green and White were able to force 18 Virginia turnovers in the process.
Up next for The Rock comes game two of the PSAC-CIAA Challenge as they look for their first win of the season in a match-up against Lincoln University (0-1) on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. tip-off scheduled.
