A slow start was too much for a shorthanded Laurel team to overcome against Slippery Rock in a 44-40 loss.

The Lady Spartans were forced to play their starters the entire game — except for one minute when a girl got sick — because a regular starter was out with a concussion.

Laurel fell behind, 15-5, in the first quarter, but the Lady Spartans fought back, cutting the lead to 34-30 entering the fourth.

“We beat ’em up in the third, but we couldn’t quite pull it off in the fourth,” Laurel coach Jessica Shevitz said. “Our starters played the entire game aside from one minute where a girl got sick and threw up, and we still only lost by four to a good Triple-A team, so it’s definitely something to build on.”

The Lady Spartans’ Becca Kerr scored a game-high 16 points. Morgan Siebka paced the Lady Rockets with 12 points, while Haley Angerett and Jackie Basta added 11 apiece.