Rocket Power
GROVE CITY — Slippery Rock knew it wouldn't be easy.
In the Rockets' girls basketball team's first meeting with Grove City Jan. 17, Slippery Rock survived a low-scoring 32-29 overtime affair.
Offense was again at a premium Monday night, but the Rockets saved their best offensive quarter for the clutch. They scored 14 points in the final period and held the Eagles scoreless over the last 3 minutes and 40 seconds of the game to pull out a 37-29 Region 5 win.
The win clinches third place in the region for Slippery Rock (14-7, 7-4), while Grove City (13-8, 6-5) is also headed to the District 10 Class AAA playoffs as the fourth-place team.
Slippery Rock coach Christin Miller was pleased with how her team handled itself late in the game in a hostile gym.
“Seasoning, that's why we won this game,” she said. “My girls knew we could win and they didn't get rattled.”
The Eagles' final points came on Hailey Hall's layup with 3:42 left in the game, putting her team ahead 29-27.
Rockets junior guard Sarah Kadlubek drained a huge 3-pointer just over a minute later, giving the lead to Slippery Rock for good.
Riley McGonigle and Nicole Papley tallied just five points between them, but they both made them count.
McGonigle hit a 2-point bucket early in the fourth to momentarily give the Rockets a 27-25 edge and added a late free throw to cushion the decisive lead.
Papley's only basket of the night came with 1:26 on the clock, pushing the advantage to 33-29.
“Riley is our unsung hero,” Miller said. “She is our floor leader and has been since (last) year. She is getting more confident with taking shots.
“Nicole did exactly what we needed her to do defensively and had a nice jump hook go in for her.”
Four Haley Angerett free throws in the final minute sealed defeat for Grove City.“We had a small lead, but Slippery Rock made a few shots and we missed some,” said Grove City coach Mike Hostetler. “This was a battle. I'm emotionally drained.”Hostetler can take pride in the fact that his defense gave up an average of 34.5 points this season to the Rockets, who average 49 points per game against their other five foes in the region.“It's a combination of things,” he said. “We match up well with them and we change our defense up a bit and that helps. It's a big rivalry and the girls get up for this game.”“They come out in their 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones and force a lot of ball rotation, making us penetrate at the seams,” said Miller of the Eagles. “(Hostetler) knows our weaknesses and they make us work for everything.”Angerett led all scorers with 11 points and Corianne Hyduchak scored 10 for the Eagles.SLIPPERY ROCK 37Haley Angerett 2 6-6 11, Emily Campbell 0 3-5 3, Lauren Dietz 1 0-0 2, Sarah Kadlubek 3 2-3 9, Riley McGonigle 1 1-2 3, Nicole Papley 1 0-0 2, Marissa Siebka 2 3-3 7. Totals: 10 15-19 37.GROVE CITY 29Brenna Deyarmin 2 0-0 5, Hailey Hall 1 1-2 3, Corianne Hyduchak 4 2-2 10, Jordyn Wyllie 1 2-4 4, Jenn Ferguson 2 1-5 5, Arianna Sprando 1 0-0 2, Alexis Deyarmin 0 0-0 0, Danyelle Lucido 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 6-13 29.Slippery Rock 6 8 9 14—37Grove City5 8 11 5—293-point goals: Slippery Rock 2 (Angerett, Kadlubek); Grove City 1 (B. Deyarmin)Thursday: Slippery Rock at Titusville; Hickory at Grove City
