SLIPPERY ROCK — Michaella Roth is undaunted by the question.

Can she rattle off the members of the extensive Roth clan by order of birth?

“I can do it fast or slow,” she says, smiling.

Roth lists them at a steady pace.

“JJ, Charlie, Lea, Brady, Grace, Hannah, Lydia, me and then Judah,” she says.

The age gap between the eldest and the youngest of the Roth children is wide.

JJ is 33, Charlie 31, Lea 30, Brady 28, Grace 25, Hannah 22 and Lydia 20.

Then there's Michaella, 18, and Judah, 16.

They all have one thing in common: basketball.

It's the sport that has been the family's common thread.

“We play five-on-five sometimes because my dad (Jeff) plays, too,” Roth said. “Growing up, we were never forced to do it or anything. I appreciated that about my parents. It was just something everyone loved to do. It's just been something that's been a big part of my life growing up.”

And it's become an even bigger part now.

The Roth siblings have another thing in common: they've all been homeschooled with mother, Charlene, doing most of the instruction.

But as Prospect natives, several have played basketball — as well as other sports — for Slippery Rock.

Lea played for three seasons at Slippery Rock; Grace played during her eighth-grade year; and Judah, a junior, started playing at Slippery Rock in the eighth grade.

And the latest Rocket is Michaella, who had excelled at First Baptist since she was in the fourth grade.

She teamed with her sisters Hannah and Lydia to win a pair of league championships with Lea as their coach.

But before her senior season, Michaella began attending Slippery Rock girls basketball open gyms.

“I had absolutely no intention of playing here,” she said. “I thought the skill level would be way over my head. I was just looking for a place where I could come and get better through the summer. I started coming to open gyms, and even when I was working out with them, playing here was never on my radar.”

That, though, began to change when Slippery Rock girls coach Amber Osborn struck up a conversation with Michaella, who thought she wasn't good enough to play at the Rockets' level.

Osborn, though, was convinced she could.

“Coach Osborn told me one day, 'Do you realize there's a starting spot open?' Michaella said. “I even asked her, 'Why are you talking to me about a starting spot?' They were such a good team, coming off a district title, there was no way, I thought, I could play there. She looked at me like, 'You're crazy. Absolutely you can do this.'”

So Michaella made the decision during the summer to play for Slippery Rock.

“It was a really, really hard decision for me,” she said. “I played for First Baptist for a really long time. But from talking to people around here, I knew it was time to move on. I needed to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone.”

It didn't take long for Michaella to get a crash course on what Slippery Rock and District 10 5A basketball was all about.

It was unlike anything she was exposed to at First Baptist and she admitted the learning curve was steep.

“The summer and even into the fall was really hard,” she said. “The way Coach Osborn coaches is really different and even the way we play is totally different for me.

“It's almost like a different sport,” Michaella added. “I had to relearn how to play offense, defense. (Osborn) broke me of a lot of bad habits. ”

Michaella relied a little on Judah, who had already played for the school for two years and was accustomed to the atmosphere and intensity.

Judah knew first-hand how intimidating it could be.

“My first year, I got nervous around the fans and the people,” Judah said. “What I told her was don't care what people think about you.”

Judah decided to come to Slippery Rock to play at a higher level.

“Mostly I wanted to get as good as I could,” he said.

As the youngest, Judah was always trying to prove himself against his older siblings.

“You have to stand your ground if you're the smallest and eventually you'll get better,” Judah said of the lessons he learned growing up as the youngest Roth. “It was physically hard, but it was fun. You learn not to do certain things to get your shot blocked.”

Judah said he has never regretted leaving First Baptist and playing for Slippery Rock.

“I love basketball. I love being in the gym,” he said. “I've made a lot of new friends. I've met a lot of great people. Friends and basketball. That's what it's all about.”

Michaella plans to go to college and major in business with a minor in event planning. She also hopes to play basketball at the next level.

Judah said he wants to “do something with my hands, with the dirt or something.”

Both attributed their family, a tree with many branches, as the guiding force behind their lives on and off the court.

“I learned a lot from my dad,” Michaella said. “He was the first person who taught me how to play basketball and he's helped me come the player that I am now.”