SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Millersville women's basketball team put up 22 points in the second quarter to try and overcome an early eight-point deficit, but fell just short in the fourth quarter dropping the contest to Slippery Rock 77-75.

The Marauders fall to 5-10 overall while The Rock improves to 4-12. Both teams hold a 2-8 conference record.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• The Marauders got off to a slow start tallying just 15 points in the first quarter to The Rock's 23. An early 6-0 run gave Slippery Rock a head start. With five minutes left in the quarter, The Rock gained a 10-point lead. Millersville tried to claw its way back but couldn't come within eight points.
• Leading by eight, The Rock started off the second quarter on a 9-2 run to create a 13-point lead. The Marauders tacked on the points shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. Erika Reed, Olivia Mottern and Courtney Dimoff combined for the four 3-point buckets. Millersville outscored The Rock 22-21, but still trailed 44-37 going into the half.
• Millersville controlled the third quarter from the start eventually cutting the deficit to as little as two points by the end of the quarter, 56-54. The Rock managed just 12 points, its lowest scoring quarter of the game.
• The Marauders turned on the heat in the final quarter, but The Rock was determined to quiet their efforts. Both teams went 8-of-15 from the field while Millersville tallied three more buckets from downtown. The final quarter saw the scores tied five times and 10 lead changes between the teams. With just under two minutes left Slippery Rock took the definite lead defeating Millersville, 77-75.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Lauren Lister recorded the first double-double of her career with 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Lister went 8-of-20 shooting and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
• Courtney Dimoff and Olivia Mottern reached double-digit scoring with 11 points apiece. Dimoff and Mottern combined for six 3-pointers and eight field goals.
• Erika Reed fell just short of double-digit scoring going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for nine points.
• Slippery Rock led in points in the paint (44-28), second chance points (14-12) and fast break points (13-8). The Marauders led in bench points (19-5).

HEAD COACH MARY FLEIG QUOTES
• "Our warmup was not as intense as it should be and the focus was not there early on. We're really going to work on that. It comes from the players."
• "The 3-pointers certainly help our offense. It spreads the court out and opens up a lot of stuff for us in all areas. Today it really helped us, but we just couldn't get that last one in."
• "We are not being smart when defending and not being a good job when guarding the ball. They are putting a lot of pressure on us and points are getting scored in the paint too easy for other teams. We just need a different mental attitude with the defense. We work on it and stress the importance of it."
• "January is a long grind being here without the student body. It will be nice to play at home in Pucillo on Saturday. We hope to get some fans there Saturday to help us and it will be nice to play back on our rims."

NOTES
• Millersville continues to lead the all-time series against Slippery Rock 15-11.
• The Rock now holds a two-game win streak over Ville.
• Lister's double-double is the first of her career and the first of the season for a Marauder.
 
UP NEXT
• The team returns home to Pucillo Gymnasium to face PSAC foe Shepherd in a 1 p.m. conference matchup.