SLIPPERY ROCK — It started innocently enough.

With the Slippery Rock High girls basketball team trailing Blackhawk 8-5 midway through the first quarter, Karly Rhoads hit a long jumper to close the lead to a single point.

Then the Rockets scored another basket. Then another. Inside. Outside. Off steals. Off offensive rebounds. Off a halfcourt set.

The points came in a deluge.

By the time the onslaught was over, the Rockets' lead had swelled to 29-9.

And Blackhawk was shellshocked.

The 24-1 run was more than enough to propel Slippery Rock to a 59-48 win over Blackhawk in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs at Slippery Rock University Saturday afternoon.

"That run was huge," said Slippery Rock coach Adrienne Orris. "It was a lot larger than we usually have. We usually get a 10-point run at some point, but I kept looking up at the scoreboard and (Blackhawk) stayed at nine (points)."

The Cougars (15-9) went nearly 12 minutes in the first half without a field goal, committing 16 turnovers during that span.

Still, Blackhawk rallied to cut the Slippery Rock lead to 15 by halftime and opened the second half on a 9-2 run to trim the advantage to eight.

That was as close as the Cougars could get.

"We knew they were going to come back," Orris said. "We talked about that at halftime. At this point in the season, nobody is going to go away, even if you have a 40-point lead. We talked about keeping that cushion."

It was by no means easy.

After shooting well in the first half, Slippery Rock (23-2) got cold in the second half.

But the defense, a mainstay this season for the Rockets, stiffened at the most important times.

Blackhawk coughed the ball up 26 times in the game and shot a mere 30 percent from the floor.

Slippery Rock rebuilt its lead to as many as 17 late in the third quarter, but Blackhawk rallied again.

But each time the Cougars threatened to wrest the momentum away, the Rockets responded with a key basket.

"We prepared ourself for that," said senior guard Ali Doyle. "We knew every team was going to be a thorn in our side. Everyone is good now. There are only 16 teams left."

Rhoads scored 29 points for Slippery Rock to lead all scorers. She was 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the final quarter as the Rockets nursed their double-digit advantage.

Adele Campbell added 10 points and senior guard Taylor Crocker, who hadn't scored a point in three playoff games this season, came off the bench to score seven.

"Taylor had a big game for us, doing what we needed her to do, running the floor and making some baskets for us today," Orris said.

Alexa Hayward led Blackhawk with 19 points.

If there was one weakness for Slippery Rock it was on the boards.

The Cougars got many second — and sometimes third — opportunities to score by getting offensive rebounds.

"It wasn't that we weren't getting our hands on the ball, it was that everything was getting batted," Orris said. "It was almost like there were too many hands in there."

Slippery Rock will play Hopewell (26-1) in the second round of the state playoffs at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Butler High School.

The two teams met in December with the Rockets falling 64-54.

Hopewell ended Slippery Rock's state run in the state quarterfinals three years ago.

"We hadn't been tested at that point of the season," Orris said of the first meeting with Hopewell. "They're a different team now and we are, too. It'll be a good matchup. We're looking forward to it."

BLACKHAWK 48Alexa Hayward 7-19 3-4 19, Stephanie Gumbert 1-2 0-0 2, Jessica Muslin 2-5 0-0 4, Rachel Curtiss 0-6 0-0 0, Casey Emge 4-12 4-5 13, Jasmine Campbell 1-5 2-4 5, Katelyn Vannoy 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Graham 2-5 0-0 4, Becky Rowe 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Mayer 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals: 17-56 9-13 48.

SLIPPERY ROCK 59Karly Rhoads 10-16 7-9 29, Ali Doyle 1-5 1-2 3, Kourtney Rhoads 1-7 2-2 4, Adele Campbell 4-10 2-3 10, Sarah Cessar 2-6 2-2 6, Bre Northcott 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Crocker 3-6 1-1 7, Morgan Siebka 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 21-50 15-19 59.

Blackhawk 8 8 11 21—48Slippery Rock 14 17 13 15—593-point goals: Blackhawk 5 (Hayward 2, Gumbert, Emge, Campbell); Slippery Rock 2 (Ka. Rhoads 2).

Wednesday: Slippery Rock vs. Hopewell at Butler, 6 p.m.