SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball team began its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule on Saturday with authority, posting its best field-goal percentage in more than 20 years by shooting 66.1 percent in a 94-58 victory over Slippery Rock from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (3-0, 1-0 PSAC) had six players post double figures in scoring and a seventh, senior Haley Scullion, score nine points. The Raiders shot 61 percent or better in all four quarters on Saturday, scoring 54 points in the paint, and committed just 10 turnovers.
 
Passing was key, as Shippensburg recorded 29 assists in the contests. That total is the most in a single game under 18th-year head coach Kristy Trn, and the most in a single game by the Raiders since recording 31 against UDC on Nov 20, 1998.
 
SU shot 63 percent (17-of-27) in the first half, including 50 percent from three-point range (6-of-12), in building a 47-37 halftime advantage. The Raiders then roared out of the gates in the third quarter, out-scoring The Rock 29-9 in the frame to lead by 30 points entering the final 10 minutes. SU led by as many as 38 points down the stretch.
 
Graduate Stephanie Knauer led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting, going 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, grabbing three rebounds and blocking three shots. Her work in the third quarter was exceptional, as she outscored Slippery Rock (2-1, 0-1) by herself with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting.
 
Senior Lauren Gold, who was honored before the game for reaching 1,000 career points last weekend, shot 5-of-8 from three-point range to finish with 15 points and five assists without committing a turnover in 26 minutes. Gold also grabbed three rebounds. Saturday marked the first time in 19 games dating back to last season that Gold did not attempt a free throw.
 
Senior Morgan Griffith had a strong second half and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting. Griffith added four assists and two steals.
 
Senior Colleen Young had 11 points and five assists without committing a turnover, while senior Logan Snyder scored 11 points and had six assists.
 
Off the bench, junior Victoria Blackburn scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, as she made 3-of-4 attempts from three-point range. Blackburn also had two assists, two rebounds and a block.
 
Scullion was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, all coming in the first half, and had nine points to go along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
SU's shooting efficiency marks just the fourth time in the last 18 years that the team has finished a game shooting 60 percent or better. Its best mark in the last 18 years had been a 61.1 percent performance at Bloomsburg on Jan. 8, 2000.
 
Shippensburg hosts Edinboro at 1 p.m. Sunday from Heiges Field House.