SLIPPERY ROCK — Morgan Siebka doesn't think of herself as a star.

She smiles wide and looks away shyly when such characterizations are made.

Whether she likes it or not, the sophomore guard has become the leader and most dangerous scoring threat on a young Slippery Rock High girls basketball team.

After initial hesitation, Siebka is starting to embrace that role.

“I was sort of nervous about it at first, when I started hearing people were thinking of me that way,” Siebka said. “Then I took it as a compliment. If people are going to think of me that way, then I'll show them that I can do that.”

Siebka has shown she can carry a team.

She entered Thursday night as the second-leading scorer in the Butler County area at 14.9 points per game, just one-tenth of a point behind Tina Lipps of Union.

Siebka also is averaging 4.8 rebounds, four steals and three assists per contest.

Siebka spent her freshman season as an apprentice on a team loaded with six seniors, playing spot minutes in 23 games.

“When I played with them, I got to see how they did things, how calm they were,” Siebka said. “I used to think playing varsity was so scary.”

The only thing scary now is how dangerous Siebka is with the basketball in her hands.

Always adept at getting to the hoop whenever she desired as a slasher, Siebka soon realized layups were hard to come by at the varsity level.

So she spent the bulk of the offseason working on a jump shot.

While it still is a work in progress, her jumper is good enough to keep defenses honest. Siebka has hit 13 3-pointers in 15 games this season.

“I'm still not the best shooter, but I feel like I've come a long way,” Siebka said. “I never used to shoot — at all.”

One thing Siebka has always had is speed.

Slippery Rock High girls basketball coach Adrienne Orris called Siebka her “instant press breaker.”

“I grew up always being faster than everyone around me,” Siebka said. “I always thought of it as a plus when they pressed me because they have three people up on me and I get around them, and it's one-on-none.”

Orris, though, has been cautious about putting too much pressure on Siebka, even though it's apparent her guard can handle it.

When the game is on the line, Siebka isn't shy about taking the big shot, Orris said.

“Something I've always known about Morgan, but has really shown this year, is she wants the ball in her hands and she has ice in her veins,” Orris said.

Siebka isn't shy about playing aggressive defense, either. In the past, she went to extremes to try to pilfer the ball from the opponent. Because of that, she routinely was in foul trouble.

With so much of the onus on Siebka this season, sitting on the bench because of fouls is not an option.

“We told her she's not allowed to foul out,” Orris said.

“I just try to do everything sometimes,” Siebka said. “It took a long time for the coaches to get through to me that I have to be careful and play smart.”