Slippery Rock women’s basketball defeated Clarion University on Wednesday night at Morrow Field House, 78-72.
The Rock got on the board first behind a three-pointer from freshman Iyanna Wade. Clarion would respond just 11 seconds later, after Golden Eagles sophomore guard Zoe Guice knocked down a three of her own.
Wade would put The Rock back in front following a steal from senior forward Alyssa Gillan, before Guice would again quickly retaliate with another three-pointer.
Six consecutive baskets from both teams, including a three-point shot from Marian Haggerty and a pair of jumpers from Gillin and Kayley Joseph-Bernard, saw The Rock leading Clarion with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter.
After Clarion freshmen forward knocked down a free throw to knot the teams up at 18, The Rock would go on a 13-6 run, aided by 7 points from Haggerty.
Karianna Woods’ first bucket of the game at the midway point in the second quarter extended the SRU lead to 9, before a pair of shots from Smedley and Arianna Seitz cut it down to five.
Both teams would keep an equal pace with one another, before jumpers from Joseph-Bernard and Sophia Hook extended SRU’s lead back up to nine heading into halftime.
Slippery Rock’s offense would struggle to find their footing coming out of the locker room, being outscored 7-0 through the first three-and-a-half minutes.
With SRU’s lead cut down to just four points, a made three-pointer from Woods would temporarily put a stop to Clarion’s momentum.
Despite this, the Golden Eagles would continue to slowly catch up with The Rock, after a layup from Seitz cut Clarion’s deficit to just one point.
SRU would continue to hold onto the narrow one-point lead, until four consecutive layups provided a cushion, extending their lead to nine.
A made three-point shot from Clarion’s Kendall Berger brought the Golden Eagles within four with just six seconds remaining in the quarter, before a half-court buzzer-beater shot from Rock freshman Claudia Ierullo ended the third, 61-52.
Neither team would find sustainable momentum in the fourth quarter, with SRU reigning victorious over the Golden Eagles, 78-72.
From the field, Slippery Rock shot 40.6%, compared to Clarions’ 36.2%.
The Rock led for 35:39 of game time, with Clarion’s last lead coming with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Wade led the team with 20 points, followed by Gillin with 16, Haggerty with 15 and Joseph-Bernard with 13.
Slippery Rock women’s basketball will return to action on Saturday when they head to Indiana University (Pa.) to take on the Crimson Hawks.
