SLIPPERY ROCK — Julie Molloy did everything she could to single-handedly lead her Grove City High School girls basketball team to a win.

But even her best effort wasn't enough.

Molloy, a senior point guard who is heading to Division I St. Bonaventure University next season, scored the first 15 Grove City points, most coming with one or two hands in her face.

Slippery Rock's Jence Rhoads was just as good, however, scoring 19 points to lead the Rockets to a 41-37 win in the Rock Box Tuesday night.

Molloy finished with 23 points.

"Julie is a one-man wrecking crew. She played phenomenal today," said Slippery Rock coach Gene Rodgers. "I had Abby (Basta) and Casey (McCaffrey) on her — my best defenders — and she still (put up points) on us."

Slippery Rock (7-1, 2-0) jumped out to a 10-2 lead midway through the first quarter and led 15-6 early in the second period, but Grove City (5-2, 1-1) calmly and coolly chopped away at the lead.

Rhoads hit a big 3-pointer as the final seconds ticked down in the first half to give the Rockets a 27-20 advantage at the break.

Rhoads spent most of the night hitting clutch shots when her team needed them the most.

"Jence made the big shot going into halftime," said Grove City coach Roger Flynn. "She played her usual outstanding game."

Rhoads also had double-digit steals for Slippery Rock.

Grove City had control of the game's tempo for much of the night. Slippery Rock, always eager to get out and run and score easy points in transition, was forced to play a half-court game.

The Eagles' zone is a tough one to crack. Grove City held Slippery Rock to just 14 points in the second half, but Grove City managed just 17 points in the final 16 minutes.

"They did a nice job," Rodgers said. "They took the pace away from the game. They did a nice job of dictating the tempo."

The Eagles didn't do a particularly good job shooting.

Molloy was 9-of-16 from the floor, but the rest of the team shot just 4-of-27. The game was 17 minutes old before a Grove City player other than Molloy made a shot from the field.

"Julie played tremendous," Flynn said. "She hit shots all over the court with pressure on her all the time.

"Of course Julie is going to do most of the scoring and of course we are practicing every day to improve our offensive skills. Julie is an outstanding player and we expect her to carry the load, and she's done a great job."

Grove City also struggled from the free throw line. The Eagles missed their first six from the line and made just 5-of-14 from the stripe.

It all added up for a frustrating night for the Eagles.

"We were really happy with our effort," Flynn said. "It was 10-2 on their court. It was very possible for it to be a run-away. That's why I am particularly proud of the way we handled it. We just couldn't catch them."

Grove City almost did. Rachel Ennis hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 37-35, but the Rockets held the Eagles off, taking a 41-37 lead with 2:42 remaining. Neither team scored after that as Rhoads was able to keep the ball away from Grove City.

"When she gets the ball, it's awful hard to take it away from her," Flynn said.

Casey McCaffrey scored nine points for Slippery Rock despite playing in foul trouble most of the second half.

McCaffrey picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter. Slippery Rock also had to play without its 6-footer inside, Jessica Fry, for part of the game because of foul trouble.

"That changed the way we wanted to play a little bit," Rodgers said. "On the flip side, it got us a lead early."

GROVE CITY 37

Maggie Orr 0-4 0-0 0, Julie Molloy 9-16 0-0 23, Rachel Ennis 2-7 1-4 6, Kim Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Jenna Kelly 0-6 2-4 2, Kristy Woods 0-0 0-0 0, Sheila Ogden 2-10 2-6 6. Totals: 13-43 5-14 37

SLIPPERY ROCK 41

Ashley Brown 0-1 0-2 0, Abby Basta 2-7 5-6 9, Danielle Drake 0-2 0-0 0, Jence Rhoads 9-18 0-1 19, Casey McCaffrey 3-10 0-1 6, Jenna Rinker 1-1 1-1 3, Jessica Fry 2-10 0-2 4. Totals: 17-49 6-13 41

3-point goals:

Molloy 5, Ennis, Rhoads

JV:

Grove City 39-34

Tuesday:

Grove City vs. Lakeview at Cranberry Tournament, 6 p.m.; Slippery Rock vs. Seton LaSalle at Upper St. Clair Classic, 6 p.m.