FARRELL — A smiling-face emoji was all Slippery Rock High girls basketball coach Amber Osborn needed to see.

One of the key members of her team, senior guard Macy McCall, was back.

And earlier than expected.

“I told her, 'Don't even text me if they tell you that you can't play. I don't even want to hear it,' Osborn said of McCall's all-important consult with her doctor about her broken foot two weeks ago. “So, she texted me and said, 'I'll see you at practice' with a nice big smiley face.'”

There's no available emoji that could adequately sum up how happy McCall was to return.

Things on that front looked grim a little more than a month ago when McCall rolled her ankle in practice and knew instantly something wasn't quite right.

That night she visited the doctor, who confirmed the worst.

“She came in and said, 'Yep, it's broke,'” McCall said. “She was pretty blunt about it. I was like, 'Are you kidding?' Then I lost it.”

It was a clean break to the outside of her foot and it healed quickly.

“It's crazy how fast a bone heals,” McCall said.

The doctor was more concerned about the sprained ankle. But that has healed as well and McCall actually made it back almost two weeks ahead of schedule, playing in the final two regular season games for the Rockets.

“I was expecting the worst, but when she did clear me I was pretty excited,” McCall said. “I was going to go for it no matter what the doctor said. I wasn't going to sit out for the playoffs.”

McCall's role dramatically changed this season.

A starter since her freshman season, McCall's main duty had been to be a sidekick to players like Jenna Whitmer, Sedona Campbell and Marrissa Siebka over those first three years.

“Passer and screener,” McCall said, smiling, as she described her previous responsibilities.

This year, it's been a different story.

She's averaging 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game.

“She's just smart, offensively and defensively,” Osborn said. “She just has those intangibles that you just can't teach.”

During the 10 games McCall missed, her teammates rallied around her.

Her best friend and fellow senior Jenna Heitzenrater wore her warmup jersey before games and her teammates said often that they were playing for her.

“It was awesome,” McCall said. “Jenna and I and Emma are kind of the veterans and we've embraced the freshmen. We're grateful that they play so hard and work so hard. The support I had from them made it so much easier for me.”

McCall has a unique rapport with the freshmen, three of which—Anna Kadlubek, Hallie Raabe and Maryann Ackerman—play significant roles.

McCall was only 14 when she became a starter for the Rockets four years ago.

“I told them, 'Hey, I've been in your shoes,'” McCall said. “'I know it's nerve wracking. You just have to go out and play and have fun because if you don't, that's when you're not going to play your best.'”

McCall is now hoping to help get the Rockets back to the District 10 title game. Last year, Slippery Rock lost in the final — a bitter defeat that has resonated with not only McCall, but her teammates.

Even the ones who weren't there.

The next step toward that goal will happen Wednesday when the Rockets play Warren in the semifinals at Meadville for a 6:30 p.m. tip.

“We have to do the little things and do our job to get it done,” McCall said.

McCall, who will play Division I softball at Wright State University and is also a standout track and field athlete, isn't ready for basketball to be over just yet.

“I have quite a bit still invested in basketball,” McCall said. “I know it's going to end eventually, but I just want to keep it going for as long as I can.”