WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Slippery Rock University women's basketball came back to beat West Chester, 78-77, in overtime at Hollinger Field House on Saturday night.
Senior
Gabrielle Troisi (Norristown, Pa. / Pope John Paul II) fell one assist shy of a triple-double for the Golden Rams in 33 minutes on the court. She scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds to notch her second straight double-double.
West Chester (3-7 overall, 1-4 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) came out firing, knocking down 4-of-7 three pointers in the first quarter en route to a 42-28 halftime lead over Slippery Rock (3-8, 1-4).
The Golden Rams were ahead for the entire game until there was 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter and The Rock went up 56-55 on a jump shot.
WCU and SRU traded several leads, but The Rock went up by six with 53 seconds left in regulation. The Golden Rams battled. A good layup by sophomore
Tacari Talford (Robesonia, Pa. / Conrad Weiser) and five quick points from freshman
Leah Johnson (Notre Dame / Columbus, N.J.) had the game tied again in a matter of 25 seconds.
Overtime started 68-68, and the lead changes continued. West Chester senior
Katherine Fisher (Rutledge, Pa. / Strath Haven) made a layup with 22 seconds remaining to make the score 77-77. Slippery Rock held the ball and began looking for a game-winning shot with about 10 seconds remaining. Nothing was there, but there was a foul called on the floor on West Chester with one second to go, and The Rock were in the double bonus. Brooke Hinderliter made the first of two free throws for the win.
Johnson tied her season high with 20 points. She also added five assists and three rebounds in 40 minutes.
West Chester has a couple weeks off for the holiday break before returning to Hollinger on January 3 to take on Shepherd University in another PSAC battle at 5:30 p.m.
