Rocket girls gut out big victory
SLIPPERY ROCK — How do you rid yourself of the bitter taste of an overtime loss?
A decisive victory against your biggest rival will do.
Slippery Rock's girls basketball team used 35 combined points from Kelly Benson and Anna Kadlubek and a strong defensive effort to down visiting Grove City 55-45 Monday evening in a key Region 5 showdown.
It is the first loss of the season for the Eagles (5-1, 3-1).
“We lost to Hickory in overtime (Thursday),” said Slippery Rock coach Amber Osborn. “We're without Hallie Raabe, who is out with injury and we had already lost Maryann Ackerman to an ACL injury. For us to put the pieces of the puzzle together without them, it gives the rest of the team the feeling that they can do it.”
In the night's first game, Hickory's boys dominated the host Rockets 78-33.
The Rocket girls entered the second quarter with a 15-13 lead, but without Kadlubek on the court. She remained on the bench with two fouls.
“They were silly fouls,” Osborn said, “but Anna plays so hard, sometimes those things happen.”
Grove City took advantage of Kadlubek's absence, going on a 9-0 run that culminated with Kenzie Haggart's 3-pointer that gave the Eagles a 22-15 lead.
Kadlubek returned and made an immediate impact, scoring the first four points of a 12-1 run to close the half.
“She's our general on the floor,” said Osborn of Kadlubek. “She gets us going at a high tempo and makes sure we are under control.”
The Rockets (5-2, 2-1) never trailed again, outscoring the Eagles 16-8 in the third period.
“We got some turnovers with our pressure, but weren't able to capitalize,” said Grove City coach Chris Burtch, “but I give more credit to Slippery Rock instead of focusing on what we didn't do.”
Kelly Benson continued her breakout junior season with a game-high 19 points for the Rockets and Kadlubek added 16.
Grove City's Clara Hannon and Becca Santom scored 10 and 11, respectively.
The Rockets will not play again until competing in the Farrell Tournament Jan. 3-4.
“We will have a lot less stress entering the break,” said Kadlubek.
Hickory 78, Slippery Rock 33The Rockets found themselves in a big hole early, trailing the Hornets 28-12 after one quarter.The win moved Hickory's record to 5-3 overall and 5-0 in Region 5.Hickory guard Don Whitehead was the catalyst, scoring 12 of his game-high 30 points in the first eight minutes.“I coached in the WPIAL (an assistant at Pine-Richland) the last five years,” said Slippery Rock coach AJ Motta. “He is one of the best guards I've seen in that time and has an extremely quick first step.“We've gotten off to a slow start a handful of times. It's tough to come back when you dig yourself a big hole.”Jack Allen paced the Rockets (1-7, 0-4) with 10 points.Motta consistently sees full effort from his players and that is the foundation for any improvement the team meets with this season.“We came together as a team for the first time Nov. 18 and are still trying to figure each other out,” he said. “The guys have not let our situation dictate their behavior. I like the grit they play with.”GirlsGROVE CITY 45Ali Lewis 4 0-0 8, Hannah Reiber 1 0-0 2, Kenzie Haggart 1 0-0 3, Clara Hannon 4 1-2 10, Becca Santom 5 1-1 11, Emma Santom 2 3-4 7, Katie McDowell 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 5-7 45.SLIPPERY ROCK 55Anna Kadlubek 7 2-3 16, Gianna Bedel 3 0-0 8, Kelly Benson 7 1-2 19, Ella McDermott 2 1-2 5, Bronwyn McCoy 2 0-0 4, Katie Book 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 4-7 55.Grove City 13 10 8 14 — 45Slippery Rock15 12 16 12 — 553-point goals: Grove City 2 (Haggart, Hannon); Slippery Rock 7 (Benson 4, Bedel 2, Book)Jan. 3: Slippery Rock at Farrell TournamentBoysHICKORY 78Matt Cannone 2 3-4 7, Don Whitehead 13 1-3 30, Julian Hudson 0 1-2 1, Peyton Mele 3 0-1 8, Jaylen Jarvie 7 3-4 18, Jackson Pryts 1 0-0 2, Connor Evans 2 0-2 4, Bailey Phillips 4 0-1 8. Totals: 32 8-17 78.SLIPPERY ROCK 33Brady Prementine 0 2-2 2, Ethan Plesakov 4 0-2 9, Jack Allen 4 1-3 10, Nathaniel Willison 1 0-0 2, Zack Thompson 2 1-2 5, Tyler Christy 1 0-0 2, Judah Roth 1 0-0 3. Totals: 13 4-8 33.Hickory 28 16 19 15 — 78Slippery Rock12 7 8 6 — 333-point goals: Hickory 6 (Whitehead 3, Mele 2, Jarvie); Slippery Rock 3 (Plesakov, Allen, Roth)Saturday: Keystone at Slippery Rock
