SLIPPERY ROCK — Ali Doyle and Sarah Cessar seem to enjoy life in the shadows.

While the spotlight often shines on the Slippery Rock High girls basketball dynamic duo of Karly and Kourtney Rhoads, Doyle and Cessar often are overlooked.

But both proved how potent they can be on both ends of the floor, helping the Rockets to a 50-36 home region win over rival Franklin.

Doyle was solid on defense and made 4-of-4 free throws in the final quarter to help nurse a double-digit lead. Cessar did just about everything else for Slippery Rock.

"Ali's leadership a lot of times is only seen by us," said Slippery Rock coach Adrienne Orris of the senior guard. "A lot of people don't know everything she does on the floor out there for us. Ali never makes a mistake when the game is on the line."

Cessar grabbed rebounds, hit the floor for loose balls, brought the ball up the court and showed off ball-handling skills in the halfcourt that helped the Rockets burn nearly two minutes on one late fourth-quarter possession.

Handling the basketball so much was a slightly different role for the 5-foot-9 Cessar, a senior who had carved out a reputation as a hard-nosed defender and rebounder over the past three years.

Few think of her as an ankle-breaking point guard.

"It was definitely a different experience," Cessar said. "I've been assuming more of a role of a point guard in practice, and I guess that has helped out. It was just something that happened (tonight)."

In large part because of a stifling defense, Slippery Rock (15-1, 9-0) never trailed.

The Rockets built an eight-point lead at the half, thanks to a 3-pointer by Kourtney Rhoads with three seconds remaining in the second quarter, and led by as many as 18 early in the fourth.

Slippery Rock held Franklin (12-4, 7-2) to 29-percent shooting and 20 points through three quarters.

"It was a defensive battle on both ends," Orris said. "Both of us have become defensive-oriented teams. The effort we put in on defense is what pulls it out for us in the end. We know if we hold teams under 40, we're going to win."

Karly Rhoads scored 16 points to lead the Rockets, who were tested for the first time in several games.

It was a good feeling to be in a pressure-packed big game, Cessar said.

"We've been pumped all day," Cessar said. "They are our biggest competition. They are a great team, and it was nice to rise to the occasion against them."

For the most part, Franklin coach Todd Wetjen was pleased with how his team played.

The only thing the coach lamented was the poor shooting.

"We were getting good looks," Wetjen said. "The shots just weren't falling. I thought we played great defense against them, about they best we could."

The win goes a long way toward wrapping up the region title for the Rockets.

Slippery Rock now has a two-game lead over Franklin with a head-to-head tiebreaker.

"This puts us one game closer to where we want to be," Orris said. "We're not going to let anyone get in the way of what we want."

FRANKLIN 36Sadie Gravatt 3-13 2-2 10, Carissa Dolan 0-0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Ritchey 2-4 0-0 4, Natalie Hager 4-10 0-0 8, Autumn Witt 0-9 0-0 0, Holly Snyder 0-1 0-0 0, Tiffany Witt 1-4 0-0 2, Brooke Deal 2-6 0-0 6, Madison Irwin 1-1 0-0 3, Mara Benvenuti 1-3 0-0 3.

Totals: 14-51 2-2 36.

SLIPPERY ROCK 50Karly Rhoads 5-11 5-6 16, Ali Doyle 1-3 4-5 6, Kourtney Rhoads 3-8 0-1 7, Adele Campbell 0-3 6-10 6, Sarah Cessar 3-7 1-2 9, Bre Northcott 1-3 1-1 3, Taylor Crocker 0 0-0 0, Morgan Siebka 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 13-35 17-25 50

Franklin 8 7 5 16—36Slippery Rock 13 10 13 14—503-point goals: Franklin 6 (Gravatt 2, Deal 2, Irwin, Benvenuti); Slippery Rock 5 (Ka. Rhoads, Ko. Rhoads 2, Cessar 2).

Thursday: Slippery Rock at Titusville