Despite double-digit performances from Iyanna Wade and Alyssa Gillin, the Slippery Rock women’s basketball team fell to Edinboro University on the road Wednesday evening, 79-50.
The Fighting Scots got out to a hot start, outscoring SRU 16-0 through the first eight minutes. After senior forward Ava Haddad got the Scots on the board just 71 seconds into the contest, sophomore guard Rachel Manfredo would account for seven of the team’s next 10 points.
A pair of free throws from Maura Suman and a layup from Taylor Blunt found Edinboro ahead by sixteen early. Slippery Rock, desperate for a bucket of their own, got one 16 seconds later behind a layup from Deryn Moye.
With 16 seconds remaining in the first, junior Sophia Hook would knock down SRU’s first three-point shot of the game, cutting the deficit to 19-5 heading into the second quarter.
A pair of shots from Edinboro’s Carmen Vasquez and Hope Garrity extended their lead to 18 points, before Mairan Haggerty knocked down a three to stop the bleeding. Later in the second quarter, Garrity would knock down another three-point shot, before fouling Wade for an and-one opportunity.
SRU held the Scots scoreless for the remaining two minutes of the first half, while adding points from Wade and Karianna Woods, heading into the locker room down 40-21.
The Rock would get on the scoreboard first to start the second half, when Haggerty recovered her own rebound for a layup. The next four points would belong to the Fighting Scots, before Gillin and Wade cut the deficit back to 17.
Neither team would find sustainable momentum for the remainder of the third quarter, with Edinboro ahead after three, 63-43.
Slippery Rock’s offense would struggle from the field in the fourth quarter, netting one shot on 12 attempts on a three-pointer from Gillin. A pair of free-throws from both Wade and Jorja Bernesser made up the remaining four points from SRU in the final frame.
Overall, SRU shot 21.7% beyond the arc, compared to Edinboro’s 40%.
For The Rock, Wade led with 13 points, followed by Gillin with 11. Hook recorded eight rebounds in the contest.
With the loss, Slippery Rock falls to 6-12 overall on the season, and 4-8 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Slippery Rock women’s basketball returns home to the Morrow Field House on Saturday to take on the No. 8 ranked Golden Knights of Gannon University.
