FARRELL — The Grove City and Slippery Rock girls basketball teams took very different roads to the District 10 5A quarterfinals.

Grove City chose the winding back trails, grinding out low-scoring wins with defense and patience.

Slippery Rock chose the interstate, foot mashed down on the gas pedal in a much more frenetic brand of basketball.

Those two styles collided Saturday afternoon at Farrell High School.

“We like to go, go, go, go, go,” said Slippery Rock coach Amber Osborn. “It was a battle of the two forces going against each other.”

The Eagles' force was winning out early.

But Slippery Rock (18-4) was able to spurt ahead by 10 in the second half and nursed that lead throughout the final two quarters to emerge with a 40-25 win over Grove City (10-14) to move on to the semifinals against Warren at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Meadville.

“When your team is averaging 38 points a game and you're playing a team that's averaging 66 points a game, you have to find a way to somehow deal with that gap,” said Grove City coach Chris Burtch.

They did that by playing staunch defense and controlling possession at the other end.

That blueprint worked early for Grove City.

The Eagles and Rockets were tied 2-2 nearly six minutes into the game and Grove City went into the half in just the type of game it wanted, trailing just 17-13.

Osborn kept her team in the locker room until the half was almost over.

The time was well spent.

“We needed to find a different way,” said Slippery Rock senior guard Macy McCall. “We were getting one shot opportunities and then playing defense for like two minutes. It was frustrating.

“I think we just got sick of that,” she added, chuckling.

Osborn also made a key adjustment.

“I sagged Stretch (senior center Jenna Heitzenrater) in the key (in the first half) because she didn't need to go out there on (Katie) McDowell, but with McDowell out there, they could reverse it and run their offense,” Osborn said. “That was one of the changes we made at halftime. Then we started getting some steals.”

And some breathing room.

Slippery Rock opened the second half with six quick points and took a 23-13 lead.

Meanwhile Grove City was struggling mightily from the free throw line, missing its first seven attempts in the third quarter and finishing the game 2-for-13.

“They call it a free throw,” Burtch said. “But they are one of the hardest earned things in basketball when you're missing them.

“Interestingly enough, for the season our percentage has been pretty good,” he added. “So, it was unfortunate. It was one of those really bad nights.”

Freshman Hallie Raabe led Slippery Rock with 13 points – nine coming in the second half.

Raabe was the team manager last season and was a very vocal and excitable member on the bench.

“She's a kid who has lived and eaten and drank this and has waited for this,” Osborn said. “I'm really proud of her. She hasn't even tipped the iceberg on what she's capable of.”

Raabe, who is still only 14, smiled when she thought about what her game meant for the team and the upperclassmen.

“It means a lot,” she said, “especially because of my teammates. The seniors, we're doing it for them.”

Another freshman, Anna Kadlubek, added eight points and junior Emma McDermott also scored eight for the Rockets.

Abby Biddle led Grove City with 11 points — nine coming in the fourth quarter, which was also all nine of the Eagles' points in the frame.

Grove City loses just two seniors, Tayler Persinger and Macguire Gubba.

“The two seniors that played this year, they really added some great depth,” Burtch said. “They were great leaders. The kids loved them. I'm very proud of them. I'm also excited to have 13 of my 15 back.”

GROVE CITY 25

Clara Hannon 2-4 0-5 4, Lily Burtch 0-3 0-0 0, Abby Biddle 5-13 1-2 11, Macguire Gubba 0-0 0-0 0, Becca Santom 3-9 1-4 8, Emma Isenberg 0-0 0-2 0, Katie McDowell 1-2 0-0 2, Mackenzie Haggart 0-4 0-0 0, Mackenzie Dye 0-0 0-0 0, Aileen Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Wise 0-0 0-0 0, Tayler Persinging 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-33 2-13 25.

SLIPPERY ROCK 40

Maryann Ackerman 2-7 1-2 5, Emma McDermott 4-14 0-0 8, Hallie Raabe 4-6 5-7 13, Jenna Heitzenrater 0-2 1-2 1, Macy McCall 2-7 1-1 5, Anna Kadlubek 1-6 6-9 8, Taylor Balint 0-0 0-0 0, Ashlet Shea 0-0 0-0 0, Isabelle Willison 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly Benson 0-0 0-0 0, Gina Coffaro 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-42 14-21 40.

Grove City 6 7 3 9 — 25

Slippery Rock8 9 9 15 — 40

3-point goals: Grove City 1 (Santom)

Wednesday: Slippery Rock vs. Warren, District 10 5A semifinals, 6:30 p.m. at Meadville