SLIPPERY ROCK — The Slippery Rock girls basketball team had two words for Jenna Whitmer and Steph Croll in the third quarter Saturday afternoon.

Welcome back.

While the two senior guards sat on the bench with two fouls each in the second quarter, the Rocket offense struggled. Slippery Rock scored only four points in the period and turned the ball over seven times.

Whitmer and Croll returned to begin the third quarter, the Rockets opened the period with a 16-0 run and cruised to a 50-33 victory over Indiana.

Slippery Rock (16-4) took a 20-13 lead into halftime.

“Foul trouble has been happening to us a lot and it’s something we’re working on,” Slippery Rock coach Amber Osborn said. “We seem to do a lot of reaching on defense.”

Defense is something the Rockets have excelled at of late. Saturday’s win marked SR’s fourth in a row and the opponent has not scored more than 36 points in any of those contests.

But early in the second quarter, the Rockets had a third starter — Macy McCall — joining Croll and Whitmer on the bench due to foul issues.

“Our other girls need to step up in those situations. We’re not always going to have all of our starters on the floor,” Osborn said. “We have been building depth, though. Our bench has gotten deeper.”

Nine different players scored for the Rockets in Saturday’s win.

“They are a very good team and they do have depth,” Indiana coach Dave Woodall said. “They had a lot of players contribute.”

Croll got the 16-0 run started by draining a trey 38 seconds into the second half. The Rockets attacked the basket from there.

Sedona Campbell sank a lay-up, Whitmer stuck back an offensive rebound, Croll laid one in, Whitmer hit a short baseline jumper and a layup.

Elena McDermott completed the onslaught with a 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the quarter. That extended Slippery Rock’s lead to 36-13.

The Rockets led 43-20 through three quarters. Osborn emptied her bench for the fourth period.

“This was a good game for us because a lot of girls got a lot of time,” she said. “We need to get everyone ready for the playoffs.”

The Rockets clinched the District 10 Region 5 title Thursday and close out the regular season tonight, hosting Meadville for Senior Night.

Croll had 12 points for the Rockets in Saturday’s game. McDermott had nine points on three treys while Whitmer contributed nine points, six assists and five rebounds.

Campbell had nine rebounds and two assists for the Rockets.

Indiana (10-12) was eliminated from WPIAL Class 5A playoff contention by a one-point loss to Armstrong the night before having to come to Slippery Rock.

The Indians have only one senior — guard Abby Myers — on their roster. Slippery Rock has eight.

“We had four freshmen on the floor at the same time for stretches in this game,” Woodall said. “We came out here and competed and I liked that.

“We enjoy coming up here. We’re always treated well and it’s usually a good game. They’re just a lot more seasoned than we are.”

Alysa Rayko paced Indiana with 12 points. She scored nine in the fourth quarter. Haleigh Zimmerman scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds while Myers had five rebounds and four steals.

INDIANA 33

Haleigh Zimmerman 2-11 2-2 7, Hanna Scardina 1-5 0-0 2, Abby Myers 2-9 0-0 4, Lauren Bertig 1-1 0-0 2, Laken Dills 1-3 0-0 2, Alysa Rayko 5-7 0-1 12, Maddie Todd 1-2 0-0 2, Bailey Dills 1-6 0-0 2, Jewel Mardis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-44 2-3 33.

SLIPPERY ROCK 50

Jenna Whitmer 4-5 1-2 9, Hannah Willison 1-1 0-0 2, Elena McDermott 3-5 0-0 9, Julia Steele 1-2 0-0 3, Bailey Boyd 3-5 0-1 6, Jenna Heitzenrater 0-1 0-0 0, Macy McCall 1-4 1-2 3, Steph Croll 4-8 2-2 12, Sedona Campbell 2-5 0-0 4, Madison Hayes 1-1 0-2 2. Totals: 20-37 4-9 50.

Indiana 8 5 7 13 — 33

Slippery Rock16 4 23 7 — 50

3-point goals: Zimmerman, Rayko 2; McDermott 3, Steele, Croll

JV: Indiana, 49-17

Today: Meadville at Slippery Rock