Rockets dispatch Harbor Creek, move on to District 10 final
MEADVILLE — It’s not about how you start as much as it is the way you finish.
Though, the manner in which the Slippery Rock girls basketball team has gotten out of the gate as of late certainly hasn’t hurt.
Since being defeated by WPIAL Class 4A finalist Knoch on Jan. 11, the Rockets have held their opponents to less than 20 first-half points in 11 of 13 outings. That stretch includes Wednesday night’s 43-26 District 10 5A semifinal win over Harbor Creek in Meadville.
Even after hobbling out to a 2-5 mark this season, Slippery Rock (14-8) finds itself heading into its sixth-straight District 10 final under coach Amber Osborn’s direction.
“Coming into this year, a lot of people had a lot of doubts about our team,” senior swingman Ella McDermott said. “We’re always in it ... It feels so good, because I feel like we just showed everybody we’re still the same Slippery Rock as before.
“We’ve definitely lost a lot of talented ballplayers, but I think that we’ve filled those spots completely. I think that we’re playing our best basketball right now.”
The Rockets spooked Harbor Creek into missing seven of their first nine shots. The Huskies could only net two points in the game’s opening six minutes and nine in the first half as a whole.
“No matter if we’re shooting 20% or 50%, our defense has to be there,” Osborn said. “The goal is to just have our defense be the constant of everything. In years past, I had a lot of firepower with other kids ... These girls have bought into the defensive side.”
Harbor Creek (14-9) gave the ball away five times in each of the initial two quarters, further helping a Rockets defense that permitted Hickory seven points in the first 16 minutes of the two teams’ quarterfinal clash.
Junior forward Samantha Zank was the only Husky to connect on more than one field goal. Harbor Creek had posted at least 45 points in four of its last five games.
“At the beginning of the season, we talked about how we lost a lot of offensive players last year,” McDermott said. “Defense was going to be our savior. We’ve worked so hard in practices these past few months to really get our defense down pat. That’s really what has won us the majority of our games this year.”
The Rockets sank eight of their first 17 shots (47%). They stretched their 14-point halftime lead to 21 with a 9-2 surge out of the intermission. McDermott, Gianna Bedel, Katie Book, and Julia Coffaro combined to go 7-for-10 (70%) from behind the arc through three frames.
“Something clicked in between all of us and, ever since then, we’ve all been playing really good together,” McDermott said. “Before, we had to figure out the pieces that we were missing, but Audrey (Kura), Katie (Book), and Gianna (Bedel) have really stepped up for us.”
McDermott paced all scorers with a total of 14 points. Book bucketed another dozen, while Bedel rounded out with six and Kura and Bronwyn McCoy with four each.
“It’s different each game, like (with) who’s the leading scorer,” Osborn said. “That’s nice, too, because I feel like it’s harder to prepare for.”
The Rockets get a chance at redemption in a rematch of last year’s championship tilt with Warren on Saturday. The Dragons (18-6) turned Slippery Rock away, 40-39, on three walk-off free throws in 2021.
“I knew that it was going to take a while to start feeling like I felt where we could be,” Osborn said. “I’m glad that we’re peaking now, rather than early in the season.”
Harbor Creek coach Mark Corey was unavailable for comment.
HARBOR CREEK 26
Samantha Zank 5 0-0 12, Hannah Smith 1 1-2 3, Alyssa Bresee 1 0-0 3, Georgia Weber 1 0-0 2, Elise Benim 1 0-0 2, Brooke Przybylski 1 0-0 2, Isabella Bollinger 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 1-2 26.
SLIPPERY ROCK 43
Ella McDermott 5 1-3 14, Katie Book 4 2-2 12, Gianna Bedel 2 0-0 6, Bronwyn McCoy 2 0-0 4, Audrey Kura 2 0-0 4, Julia Coffaro 1 0-0 3. Totals: 16 3-5 43.
Harbor Creek 4 5 9 8 -- 26
Slippery Rock 13 10 11 9 -- 43
3-point goals: Harbor Creek 3 (Zank 2, Bresee); Slippery Rock 8 (McDermott 3, Bedel 2, Book 2, Coffaro)
Saturday: District 10 5A Championship-Slippery Rock vs. Warren, site and time TBA
