SLIPPERY ROCK — As the final seconds ticked off the Morrow Field House clock, Jence Rhoads flashed a smile at the Slippery Rock High School girls basketball bench.

When the horn sounded, the senior point guard was mobbed by teammates after her 29-point, 10-rebound effort helped the Rockets to a 51-40 win over Mercyhurst Prep Wednesday night.

The victory puts Slippery Rock back in the District 10 Class AAA title game, where it will face Sharon, a 67-54 winner over General McLane, Saturday at a site and time to be announced. The win also put the Rockets in the PIAA playoffs for the second straight year.

"This win is right up there on my all-time list," Rhoads said.

Slippery Rock avenged a 59-41 loss to Mercyhurst Prep Jan. 4. Before the game, the Lakers faithful chanted "January 4th, January 4th" as a reminder of the Rockets' most lopsided loss of the season.

"No, I didn't hear that," Rhoads said. "It was nice to win this game. We wanted a little bit of revenge, and, of course, we wanted to get back to the district title game."

This time around, the game against the Lakers followed a much different script.

Slippery Rock (17-9) never trailed after the three-minute mark of the first quarter.

The Rockets built a seven-point lead at halftime and spent most of the second half nursing it.

Mercyhurst Prep (22-4), the No. 1 seed in Class AAA, got as close as a point early in the second half, but the Rockets rebuilt their lead to seven points just as quickly.

"It seemed like every time I looked up we had a seven-point lead," said SlipperyRock coach Adrienne Orris. "I think having Meadville come back on us (Saturday) actually helped us."

Slippery Rock nearly blew a 19-point lead against Meadville in the playoff opener. It wasn't going to let another lead slip away.

Neither was Rhoads.

She scored 15 points in the second half, including nine in the fourth period, to help the Rockets secure the win.

Mercyhurst Prep coach Dan Perfetto said the plan was to contain Rhoads as much as possible.

But he didn't expect his team to have so much trouble on offense.

"We wanted to control (Rhoads) the best we could," the coach said. "We just didn't hit any shots. They just wouldn't fall for us."

The Lakers shot 17-of-53 from the floor and were particularly chilly from the field in the second half.

Meanwhile,Slippery Rock shot well throughout the game. Kourtney Rhoads hit her first three shots and had all 11 of her points in the first half.

Slippery Rock has won eight straight games and finished February without a loss.

"I've been around this game long enough to know if you want to play in March, you have to play well in February," Orris said.

Freshman Ali Doyle came off the bench and gave Slippery Rock a big spark on the boards.

The 5-foot-1 guard — and the shortest player on the court for either team — grabbed seven rebounds in the second half and scored four points in the final four minutes of the game.

Doyle was the goalkeeper for the Slippery Rock girls soccer team that made it to the PIAA semifinals.

"She can play under pressure," Jence Rhoads said. "She's probably the hardest worker on the team."

For Jence Rhoads, the District 10 title game will give her a chance at redemption.

Last season in the district final against Franklin, her foul in the waning seconds of regulation helped Franklin send the game to overtime, where it eventually won.

Rhoads spent the overtime period on the bench after fouling out.

"It's going to be on my mind," she said. "I just want to win this one. I don't want to lose it again."

SLIPPERY ROCK 51Jence Rhoads 13-20 3-3 29, Emma Walter 0-1 1-2 1, Karly Rhoads 2-4 0-0 6, Sarah Cessar 0-4 0-0 0, Kourtney Rhoads 5-11 0-0 11, Jenna Rinker 0-0 0-0 0, Ali Doyle 2-7 0-1 4.

Totals: 22-47 4-6 51

MERCYHURST PREP 40Lindsay Moore 0-7 1-2 1, Leanna Feeney 1-2 0-0 2, Ellen Bach 1-1 0-0 2, Kelly Nowacinski 5-17 0-0 13, Victoria Majewski 0-0 0-0 0, Amanda Debello 0-0 0-0 0, Courey Schaetzle 5-14 1-2 11, Kristen Olowinski 5-12 0-0 10.

Totals: 17-53 2-4 40

Slippery Rock 16 13 9 13—51Mercyhurst Prep 13 9 9 9—403-point goals: Slippery Rock 3 (Karly Rhoads 2, Kourtney Rhoads); Mercyhurst Prep 4 (Nowacinski 3, Schaetzle)

Saturday: Slippery Rock vs. Sharon, site, time TBA

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