MANSFIELD – A strong second half fueled the Slippery Rock women's basketball team past the Mansfield Mountaineers on Wednesday evening. The Rock scored 44 points in the second half to come away with a 70-39 win at First Citizens Community Bank Court in Decker Gymnasium.  The game had been moved up a day to avoid the impending snow storm threatening the region.
 
Mansfield led 10-9 through the first ten minutes of action, and it seemed the game would be a back-and-forth battle. McKenzie Hatch dished to Mia Leonard, who knocked down an elbow jumper to get Mansfield on the board first. After Slippery Rock tied the game at 4-4 with 4:10 left in the quarter, the two teams exchanged points over the course of the next three minutes of play. The Rock's leading scorer Brooke Hinderliter entered the game averaging over 18 points per game, but she scored her only two points of Wednesday's contest during that stretch from the free throw line. Mansfield held the junior, who ranks as a scoring leader in the PSAC, scoreless from the field. The Mounties defended her shots perfectly on a 0-for-7 shooting performance.
 
Sydney Reed and Paige Whitfield both hit jumpers to help the Mounties stay on top 10-9 through the first quarter. This carried over into a 9-1 Mansfield run through the first four minutes of play in the second quarter. Within that run, Hatch buried a 3-pointer – Mansfield's only trifecta of the half – and then assisted Madison Mattas for her first bucket of the day. Mattas then scored again on the ensuing drive on a deep jump shot from the left wing.
 
For SRU, Madison Johnson charged a 15-5 run over the final four minutes of the half by scoring all seven of her first half points in the second quarter, including Slippery Rock's only three-ball of the first half.
 
Both teams combined to shoot just 33% (19-for-58) from the field through 20 minutes of play.
 
The second half was an entirely different ballgame. Although the Mounties held The Rock's leading scorer to just two points, Ciara Patterson led the team in her absence with 15 points.  The guard went 5-for-11 from the field overall including three successful 3-point attempts, all of which she hit consecutively in the third quarter. Patterson totaled 11 points in that fateful third, helping Slippery Rock to pull away for good.
 
Mansfield did show some signs of fight, trying to make a comeback late in the third. Noelle Cameron received a pass from Kira Merritt and proceeded to finish a layup through a foul and then covert on the three-point play.
 
In the fourth quarter, Sydney Reed dropped a triple for five points in the contest. Alyssa DeNofa scored her fourth point of the season from the foul line while also coming up with a steal and dishing out an assist. Freshman Autumn Hutlberg made a jumper in the paint and was fouled on the play. The Warren, Pa. native was also good from the free throw line for three points in the game.
 
Cameron had the team-highs in points (8), and rebounds (5). Mia Leonard had a well-balanced day, scoring five points, grabbing five rebounds, and blocking four shots.
 
In addition to her five points, Reed also pulled down four rebounds. Senior McKenzie Hatch and sophomore Kira Merritt combined for six points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Nine different players got in on the scoring column for Mansfield.
 
After her seven-point burst in the second quarter, Slippery Rock's Johnson added another seven points in the second half to reach her season-high 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field. Despite the sluggish start, The Rock went on to shoot 55% over the final three quarters to secure the 70-39 win on the road; Their 39 points allowed is tied for the third lowest single-game total against a Division II team in program history.
 
Without a game this weekend due to the weather and schedule adjustments, Mansfield's next game is Wednesday, January 23^rd when they hit the road for Shippensburg University. The game begins at 5:30 p.m.