SLIPPERY ROCK — Jenna Whitmer dribbled forward, took a step back behind the arc and buried a 3-pointer.

The Slippery Rock High sophomore guard did it again.

And again.

When Hickory got wise to her step-back jumper, she drove to the rim for a layup.

Whitmer was hard to stop, scoring 25 points.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, Hickory was also hard to stop.

The Hornets jumped out to an early 14-2 lead and cruised to a 57-41 win over Slippery Rock to finish the regular season undefeated.

But the very young Rockets and their young star served notice that they could be a scary team in the District 10, Class AAA playoffs next week.

“Jenna is just an awesome player,” said Hickory coach Jeanette Whitehead. “I predict she's going to be an all-stater down the road, and she is coached by one of the best coaches out there in (Slippery Rock coach) John Tabisz.

“This was exactly what I expected,” Whitehead added. “Slippery Rock has a bright future, but I credit my team as we got out of the gate strong and got a good cushion.”

Whitmer nearly single-handedly kept Slippery Rock (12-9, 7-3) in the game with 12 of her points in the third quarter.

She hit three 3-pointers in the frame and scored four more points in the fourth quarter to get the Rockets as close as 52-38 with nearly five minutes remaining in the game.

But the disciplined Hornets, who had three double-digit scorers led by Nicole LaCava with 18, were able to milk clock and secure a win that gave them a 21-0 overall record and 10-0 mark in the region heading into the playoffs.

“This was great for both teams which are heading to the playoffs,” Whitehead said. “Slippery Rock can stick with anybody.”

Whitmer has averaged 18.2 points per game since junior forward Marissa Siebka went down with a season-ending knee injury. That production helped the Rockets, who start four sophomores and a freshman, finish tied with Oil City for second place in the region behind Hickory.

“She's a warrior,” Tabisz said of Whitmer. “We ask her to do so much.”

Whitmer doesn't shy away from that challenge.

She smiles when asked how she learned the step-back 3-pointer and why it has become such a dangerous weapon in her arsenal.

“It's kind of my move, I guess,” Whitmer said. “I work on it a lot. It's my favorite move to do. I'm going to have to work on faking that and going around them because they are going to come up on me more when I do that.”

She will have at least one more game to work on it.

Slippery Rock will find out this weekend who it will play in the first round of the district playoffs.

The Rockets could be the No. 2 or No. 3 team out of the region, depending on what the district committee decides.

For Whitmer and her teammates, it's a chance to get valuable experience.

“It's really exciting, especially because we are so young and making it,” Whitmer said. “We learn from playing against good teams like Hickory. Even if we lose, it'll make us better.”

Tabisz sees it as an opportunity to spend at least one more week with his team.

“No matter who we get, like I told them, we get to practice another week and we get to play at least one more game,” Tabisz said. “I'll take that. We're going to battle.”

HICKORY 57

Megan Chess 5-8 2-3 13, Neely Whitehead 2-4 2-2 6, Hannah Aikins 0-2 0-0 0, Brandi Beader 4-8 3-4 13, Nicole LaCava 8-13 1-1 18, Marissa DeJulia 2-5 3-4 7, Jillian Greenberg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-41 11-14 57.

SLIPPERY ROCK 41

Jenna Whitmer 10-19 1-1 25, Hannah Willison 1-2 0-0 2, Bailey Boyd 0-3 1-2 1, Macy McCall 1-10 3-4 5, Steph Croll 2-3 0-0 5, Elena McDermott 1-3 0-0 3, Lilly Weitzel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-40 5-7 41.

Hickory 17 17 14 9 — 57

Slippery Rock4 14 13 10 — 41

3-point goals: Hickory 4 (Chess, Beader 2, LaCava); Slippery Rock 6 (Whitmer 4, Croll, McDermott)

TBD: Slippery Rock in District 10 Class AAA playoffs