ROSSTWP — Balance beats brilliance.

Just ask the Moon girls basketball team.

The Tigers' five starters scored 11, 10, 10, 10 and eight points while Slippery Rock's star, Jence Rhoads, represented more than half of the Rockets' offense.

It was no wonder then that Moon left North Hills High School Saturday afternoon with a 49-31 win in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

"We wanted to get the ball out of (Rhoads') hands," said Moon coach Kelly Matthews. "She's an extremely talented player, the best high school player I have seen in a long, long time."

That strategy worked for Moon (21-8).

Rhoads finished with 16 points on 6 of 17 shooting. The rest of the Rockets were 5 of 28 from the floor.

The junior point guard had 12 points in the first half as Slippery Rock led 16-14 midway through the second quarter.

But then Matthews implored her team to stop lettingRhoads kill them.

"In the first half, we weren't really stepping into the paint when she was penetrating, and she was getting some things in transition," Matthews said. "At halftime, I told our kids, 'I don't care if your kid shoots the ball. I want the ball out of Jence's hands.'"

Moon turned Rhoads into almost strictly a passer in the second half. She took just seven shots after halftime.

That would have been fine for SlipperyRock (21-7) if it were shooting a little better.

The Rockets' other four players were getting open looks, but were misfiring.

That helped Moon go on a 23-4 run after falling behind in the second quarter to put the game away.

"We got some looks, but they weren't falling," said Slippery Rock coach Gene Rodgers. "It was a big letdown offensively."

There was no letdown on offense from Moon.

Julie Gebhard scored 11 points, Grace Palucis, RachelRichardson and Laura Magnelli 10 each and Jennifer Ross eight for the ultra-balanced Tigers.

The season didn't start out that way for Moon. Palucis was the offensive show for more than half the season before balance returned to the Tigers.

That helped them reach the WPIAL championship game, where they lost to Hopewell for the third time this season.

"No one expected us to be in that game," Matthews said. "After we lost, everyone was coming up to us saying good job, way to go. But I told the girls we have bigger goals."

Rebounding also buoyed Moon. The Tigers out-rebounded Slippery Rock 2-1.

Moon got second and third opportunities several times during the game. The Rockets' got very few, only grabbing seven offensive rebounds.

"Rebounding was horrendous," Rodgers said. "It has been all year. That's been our Achilles' Heel. It was our downfall today."

It was the last game for senior Abby Basta, Casey McCaffrey and Jessica Fry.

It was doubtful whether Basta would even play after suffering an ankle injury in the first round of the District 10 playoffs, but she played 30 minutes against Moon.

SlipperyRock's appearance in the state playoffs was its first since the 1997-98 season.

It probably won't be long before the Rockets return.

Back next season is Butler County leading scorer Rhoads, Jenna Rinker, who started against Moon as a freshman, Danielle Drake and Shanea Raabe, who were starters at various times during the season.

"The seniors, Abby, Casey and Jessica, were fantastic this year," Rodgers said. "Then we have some other girls who have come in and done what they needed to do."

SLIPPERYROCK 31Abby Basta 2-10 0-0 4, Danielle Drake 1-1 0-0 2, Shanea Raabe 0-0 0-0 0, Jence Rhoads 6-17 4-4 16, Casey McCaffrey 0-7 2-2 2, Jenna Rinker 1-5 0-0 2, Jessica Fry 1-5 2-4 4, Cassey Hogue 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Kreutz 0-0 0-0 0, Samantha Amyx 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-45 8-10 31

MOON 49Grace Palucis 4-15 0-0 10, Jennifer Ross 3-7 2-2 8, Laura Magnelli 4-6 1-2 10, Julie Gebhard 5-6 1-1 11, Rachel Richardson 4-7 2-6 10, Brittany Jacobs 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Harmon 0-0 0-0 0, Kate Kovach 0-2 0-0 0, Rebecca Pollack 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Ripple 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Fasone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-44 6-13 49

Slippery Rock 9 9 4 9—31Moon 12 13 14 10—493-point goals: Rhoads, Palucis, Magnelli