SLIPPERY ROCK — Emma McDermott was done.

With the indecision.

With the hesitation.

With the fear.

The 6-foot junior swing player on the Slippery Rock High girls basketball team was coming off one of the worst games of her career in a loss to region rival Hickory.

She scored just two points.

McDermott, who missed most of her sophomore season with a torn ACL, was fed up.

“I just told (Slippery Rock girls basketball coach Amber Osborn), 'I'm done with this,'” McDermott recalled. “'I'm done with worrying about my knee. I'm just going to go out and play and not let anything hold me back anymore.'”

The admission was a difficult one for McDermott to make.

Once she made it, though, it spearheaded McDermott's rebound into the impact player she was showing signs of being until the injury midway through last season derailed her.

“I think my confidence level is the biggest difference,” McDermott said. “The last couple of years, it's definitely been a mental game for me and I struggled. I didn't have confidence in myself, or my shot, and I was worried about making mistakes. Now, I'm just going out to play and do my best.”

Since that setback to Hickory, McDermott is averaging 17.5 points per game.

She's scored at least 16 points in her last six games, including 20 or more in the last three.

“I feel like she's not only up to speed, but she's way past what she was,” Osborn said.

During McDermott's recovery from ACL surgery, she made it a point to work on her game any way she could.

That included doing dribbling drills while seated in a chair and form shooting from a standing-still position.

McDermott even scheduled her rehab around practices and open gyms.

“There wasn't a day we had the gym open, except maybe when she was on a family vacation, that she wasn't there,” Osborn said. “She was living in the gym.”

McDermott said she was determined to come back as quickly as she could from the devastating injury.

But it wasn't just about getting back. It was about playing well when she finally returned.

“Getting hurt was definitely a blessing and a curse,” McDermott said. “It helped me focus on the things I needed to improve. Tearing my ACL — it made me want to get back and play well.”

McDermott is now leading the Rockets in scoring at 14.4 points per game.

She's played particularly well at a time when Slippery Rock has needed all hands on deck after the injury to Macy McCall.

The senior guard broke a bone in her foot three weeks ago and it's unclear whether she will be back at all this season.

McDermott can relate to having to watch from the sidelines with an injury.

“It definitely stinks,” McDermott said. “She came up to me a few weeks ago and said, 'I can't believe you sat out all that time like that,'” and I told her, 'Mace, it's going to be OK. You'll get back.'”

McDermott is also a nightmare for teams to gameplan around because of her height and length.

And she's finally beginning to use it, getting her long arms in passing lanes and causing turnovers.

“For awhile, she didn't trust her speed,” Osborn said. “A lot of players coming back from an ACL don't trust their speed. She kept saying how slow she felt. Finally, she's trusting herself and using those go-go-gadget arms as I call them.”

Slippery Rock (12-4, 8-1) has a huge game on tap at home against Hickory (12-5, 8-1) Monday. The winner has the inside track at the Region 5 championship.

McDermott is relishing the opportunity to play the Hornets again.

“You have no idea,” McDermott said. “I can't wait to play that game.”