Box Score

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Shepherd University rallied from a six-point first half deficit and pulled away down the stretch to earn a 71-59 win over Slippery Rock in the consolation game of the Courtyard by Marriott Classic at Merrimack Saturday.

The Rock (0-3) scored the first eight points of the game and held a six-point lead at halftime, but struggled in the second half, connecting on just five shots from the floor as Shepherd (2-2) pulled away with a 41-point effort in the second half.

The free throw line proved to pivotal in the game, as the two teams combined for 64 attempts from the charity stripe. Shepherd won that battle, connecting on 26-of-28 attempts, while Slippery Rock hit on 25-of-36 tries.

Bethany Caudill had her first breakout game of the season to lead SRU. She finished with a game-high 18 points, including 11 free throws. Grace Palucis added 12 points, while Danielle Smith chipped in eight points and nine rebounds. Sherita Stanley scored seven points and pulled town a game-high 11 rebounds and Emilee Vitez added four points at eight rebounds.

The Rock finished the game shooting 31.8 percent from the field, connecting on 14-of-44 attempts, including just 5-of-22 shots in the second half. SRU was 6-of-16 from the 3-point arc.

Shepherd shot a dismal 20.5 percent in the first half, connecting on just 8-of-39 attempts, and managed only a 28.0 shooting percentage for the game, hitting on 21-of-75 attempts.

Jessica Hewett led Shepherd with 17 points, while Shelby Fayak added 16 points, including 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Emily Daniel added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After struggling in the first half Friday against Merrimack, Slippery Rock came out of the gates firing Saturday, scoring the first eight points of the game to lead 8-0 with 15:48 to play in the half.

Shepherd chipped away at the lead and managed to take its first lead of the game, 27-26, with 3:24 left in the first half, but a layup on the next possession from Caudill put The Rock back out in front for the remainder of the half. SRU took a 36-30 lead into the intermission.

Shepherd tied the game early in the second half before each team traded buckets for three consecutive ties. Shepherd broke the tie and took a 44-43 lead with 14:56 to play. Shepherd then increased its lead to as much as 11 points at 63-52 with 4:40 left to play, but a resilient Slippery Rock squad battled back.

The Rock cut the lead to just six points at 63-57 with 2:08 to play, but Shepherd shut the door with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Slippery Rock will return home in search of its first win of the season when Findlay visits Morrow Field House Sunday (Nov. 28) at 1 p.m. Admission to that game is free for all fans.