SLIPPERY ROCK — Anna Kadlubek felt the fluttering in her stomach and the jackhammering of her heart shortly before her first varsity basketball game as a freshman for the Slippery Rock High girls basketball team.

“I had no clue what I was stepping into,” she said.

What she was stepping into was a position as the starting point guard on a team that had lost eight seniors from the season before and was relying on a group of freshmen like herself to keep the Rockets program humming along.

So, she looked at her teammates before she ran out onto the court for the first time and said, “Let's go out and crush it.”

Kadlubek and the other freshmen have.

Kadlubek, Maryann Ackerman and Hallie Raabe have combined to average 28.7 points per game for Slippery Rock.

Other freshmen Kelly Benson, Isabelle Willison, Gina Coffaro and Ashley Shea have seen minutes this season for the Rockets.

“I guess you always hope and dream that they're going to be coachable and have basketball IQ and drive,” said Slippery Rock girls basketball coach Amber Osborn. “That's sometimes hard to come by, but I could see they had that in the open gyms.”

Osborn recalled turning to her husband and assistant coach Doug Osborn while watching the freshmen work this summer.

“I said to him, 'Holy cow,'” Osborn said.

The 5-foot-7 Kadlubek has made the biggest impact so far.

She's leading the team in scoring at 13 points per game and is also the team-leader in 3-pointers (13). She's also been a thief with 3.5 steals per contest.

Her speed is by far her biggest asset.

As Osborn said, “her speed is off the charts.”

Kadlubek laughed at recalling just how many times Osborn has implored her to use her jets.

“I can always hear my coach yelling to use my speed,” Kadlubek said. “Speed on offense. Speed on defense.”

Kadlubek said she couldn't have a better example in how to play the position at such a young age than Osborn.

Then Amber McFeely, Osborn got an early taste of varsity action as a point guard at Grove City High.

“(Coach Osborn) always pushes me,” Kadlubek said. “She was in the same spot.”

The freshmen have been one of the reasons why Slippery Rock is 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the region with a big road game against Hickory looming Wednesday night.

Raabe, a 5-8 forward who is known around the gym by merely “Red,” missed a game at the start of the season because of a knee injury.

She said she used that time away from the court wisely.

“I think that coming back from an injury and not playing gave me a little different perspective,” Raabe said. “Being off the court, I learned a little bit.”

Ackerman is just 5-5, but she plays much bigger.

And tougher.

“We laugh about it because she's so quiet, but she's like a freight train,” Osborn said. “They all play like that with no fear and such tenacity.

“Maryann has just such a high basketball IQ,” Osborn added. “She's a dream to coach.”

Ackerman said the freshmen are comfortable with each other because they've all played together since they could first dribble a basketball.

And they've had tremendous success throughout their careers.

“We know each other so well and we know what each of us adds to the game,” Ackerman said.

And they all realize they still have a lot of learning to do.

“I couldn't tell you how many things I've learned already,” Kadlubek said. “I learn something every day and I try to learn from my mistakes.”

With so many freshmen counted on to fill so many key roles, many wondered how good the Rockets would be.

After all, Slippery Rock had a wealth of experience in the past with players like Sedona Campbell, Steph Croll, Elena McDermott, Jenna Whitmer and Bailey Boyd — all multi-year starters.

But they were all lost to graduation.

Yet Slippery Rock is still chugging along.

“Yeah, we're freshmen,” Kadlubek said. “But we can still play with seniors and juniors.”

The freshmen have also received a healthy assist from the older players on the team, the three captains in particular: seniors Macy McCall and Jenna Heitzenrater and junior Emma McDermott.

“I'm honored to have them as teammates,” Kadlubek said. “They encourage us every day and give us constructive criticism. I listen to every word that comes out of their mouths.”

Ackerman said: “We couldn't ask for anyone better to lead us.”

Osborn doesn't know where this season that started with lots of unknowns, will eventually end up.

She does know that she has a rare group of freshmen who are wise and talented beyond their years.

“This has been by far the most enjoyable year for me,” Osborn said. “There's zero drama and the seniors have absorbed the freshmen into the team completely and taken them under their wing.”