In their first game in over eight months, Slippery Rock women’s basketball fell to Duquesne University in an exhibition game Thursday night, 108-53.
After falling behind by five points early, junior Sophia Hook would get The Rock on the board courtesy of a three-pointer.
The Dukes took the next nine points, propelling themselves to a 13-point advantage, before freshman Iyanna Wade hit a triple herself to cut the deficit back to 10.
“I think the world of [Ryenn Micaletti] and their staff,” said Duquesne head coach Dan Burt. “Those kids played really hard in a tough situation.”
Some back-and-forth between the two squads saw Hannah Pugliese and Kayley Joseph-Bernard add a pair of threes, before Duquesne took control for the remainder of the first quarter.
Down by 19 early in the second period, a jumper from junior Mairan Haggerty ended the scoring drought for The Rock.
Baskets from Duquesne’s Mackenzie Blackford and Gabby Grantham-Medley increased the Dukes’ lead to 29 at the midway point of the second.
A late jumper from Grantham-Medley marked the final points of the first half, with the White and Green trailing 66-32.
The third quarter got off to a solid start, with Hook adding a pair of short buckets for SRU.
Despite the momentum, the Dukes would quickly respond behind a three-pointer from Nadia Moore. This would mark the start of a 13-point run, before Hook again found the bottom of the net on a three-pointer.
Another three from Pugliese at the end of the third quarter cut the deficit to 40.
The White and Green struggled to find their footing in the fourth quarter, being outscored 9-24.
A three-pointer from Mackenzie Blackford with 4:02 remaining eclipsed the century mark for the Dukes.
“Slippery Rock is a program that’s growing, and I think they have a lot of class to them,” said Burt.
Hook led The Rock with 11 points, followed by Joseph-Bernard and Pugliese, each with eight.
Turnovers proved to be costly, with Duquesne outscoring SRU 39-5 in points off turnovers.
SRU women’s basketball will return to the court on Nov. 15, when they travel up to Erie to take on the University of Charleston in the Atlantic Region Challenge.
