ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville comes into Wednesday's cross-divisional contest with Slippery rock playing arguably its best basketball of the season over the pas three games. The Marauders recently picked up their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory of the season over Mansfield, while taking West Chester and Lock Haven down to the wire, dropping both games by just five points. 'Ville currently sits at No. 8 in the Eastern division but still has four games to play against bottom-four teams in the East, this leaves them with opportunity to squeak into the six spot come postseason time.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• The Marauders' key to success is starting to become clear, score the basketball. Millersville is currently 2-0 when scoring at least 60 points, and they've held six teams to under 60 points this season. If the Marauders can find a way to produce offense they'll find success. 
• One of the main reasons for the Marauders recent strong play has been the effectiveness of their 2-2-1 press. Creating chaos on the defensive end of the floor has been a staple for this team all season and they're starting to show it more frequently. Head coach Sharay Hall has been utilizing her bench in these last three matchups, playing at least 12 players in all three. This has helped keep legs fresh and moving and allowed five or more players to record steals in the past three games. 
• The Marauders are currently ranked as the No. 9 defensive unit in the PSAC, allowing 59.8 points per game. In addition to that, they rank fourth in the PSAC in steals per game (9.87) and ninth in turnover margin (-0.47). Lauren Lister and Ty Taylor both rank within the top-15 in steals this season.

SCOUTING THE THE ROCK

• Slippery Rock rolls into this matchup as the No. 7 scoring team in the PSAC at 66.2 points per game. A large part of that scoring comes from the No. 2 scorer in the PSAC, Jamiyah Johnson. Johnson averages 19.2 points per game, while shooting a stellar 59.8% from the floor. Slippery Rock excels when the center gets going on the offensive end of the floor, as they are currently 5-0 when she scores more than 20 points. 
• The Rock is also a top-five rebounding team in the PSAC and a large part of that comes from Johnson; She averages 15.5 boards per game which makes her the top rebounder in NCAA Division II women's basketball. 
• Slippery Rock has had five of its last six game end up in postponements, giving the team only one game (71-55 loss to Edinboro on Saturday, Jan. 22) since January ninth. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

Millersville: Lock Haven 49, Millersville 44 (Jan. 25, 2022) - The Marauders jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before surrendering a 10-2 run to Lock Haven to end the first quarter. Bald Eagle guard, Brook Lawyer then erupted for 11 points in the second quarter, putting the Marauders down four heading into the second half. 'Ville was able to even the score up at 38 in the third but fell off in the fourth, failing to score in the final 3:44 of play. 

Slippery Rock: Edinboro 71, Slippery Rock 55 (Jan. 22, 2022) - All-American candidate was Johnson was forced to sit out leaving a freshman to take her place. Edinboro was able to take advantage of that and jumped out to an early 23-7 lead after one, cruising to a convincing victory after that.    

SERIES HISTORY

• The Marauders currently lead the series 15-11.
• Slippery Rock currently holds a one game winning streak. 

THE LAST MEETING

• Slippery Rock 77, Millersville 75 (Jan. 15, 2020) - The Marauders fell behind eight in the first quarter but came in the third to make it a two-point game; However, The Rock held up down the stretch despite 24 points from Lister.