SHARON — General McLane girls basketball coach Meghan Meabon couldn't stop smiling.

And why not? Meabon had reason to be giddy.

She had just watched her team dominate Slippery Rock in every phase of the game on the way to a 66-40 win in the District 10 Class AAA semifinals at Sharon High School Wednesday night.

"We are playing the best I've seen any General McLane team play," Meabon said. "We are definitely peaking at the right time. It's really nice right now."

Things were anything but nice for Slippery Rock.

The Rockets (17-7) struggled for the second straight game on the boards and had an unusually abysmal shooting night.

It was no wonder then that Slippery Rock fell behind by 20 midway through the second quarter and by 30 by the end of the third period.

A team that had averaged nearly 70 points per game during the regular season had scored just 23 points through three quarters against the Lancers.

"We had the confidence to come out and play with them," said Slippery Rock coach Adrienne Orris. "We just didn't get the job done tonight. We knew exactly what we had to do and we didn't execute according to plan, and that's what did us in tonight."

Slippery Rock shot a mere 31 percent from the floor, committed 20 turnovers and were out-rebounded by a 2-to-1 margin.

As had been the case in the first half against Corry in the opening round of the playoffs, the Rockets were killed on the offensive glass.

Leading rebounder Sarah Cessar was out again due to illness and may not return this season.

Still, Orris had no easy answer for the rebounding woes or how to correct it before Saturday's do-or-die clash with Franklin with the third and final spot in the state playoffs at stake.

"Hit the weight room in the offseason," Orris said.

Karly Rhoads finished with 17 points for Slippery Rock, but nine came in the first quarter. No other Rocket reached double digits.

General McLane's defensive plan was obvious: Hound both Karly and Kourtney Rhoads.

"We know the Rhoads girls can shoot lights out," Meabon said. "We didn't want to give them an opportunity to get hot tonight. We wanted to defend them, get a hand in their face constantly."

The Lancers (22-1) were also adept at getting to every loose ball and at stepping into passing lanes to force turnovers.

"At one timeout I told the girls, 'It looks like there are eight white jerseys out there,'" Meabon said. "You can't coach that or teach that. That comes from within."

Sarah Hansen finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Lancers. Her teammate, Julie Myers, also turned in a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards.

For Slippery Rock, the sooner it can forget this one, the better.

"It's over and done with," Orris said.

SLIPPERYROCK 40Karly Rhoads 7-20 2-2 17, Ali Doyle 1-4 0-0 2, Kourtney Rhoads 2-9 2-6 6, Adele Campbell 2-9 3-5 7, Taylor Crocker 0-1 0-0 0, Bre Northcott 3-5 2-2 8, Katja Kaufman 0-0 0-0 0, Jackie Basta 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Weitzel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 15-49 9-15 40.

Totals:

GENERAL McLANE 66Kelly Bruce 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Dougherty 4-11 0-0 8, Sarah Hansen 10-21 1-1 23, Valerie Majewski 5-17 2-2 12, Leah Hansen 3-5 2-2 9, Stephanie Molnar 0-3 2-3 2, Julia Myers 5-13 2-2 12, Hillary Woods 0-2 0-0 0, Alley Kitcey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-74 9-10 66

Slippery Rock 13 5 5 17—40General McLane 19 18 16 13—663-point goals: Ka. Rhoads; S. Hansen 2, L. Hansen

Saturday: Slippery Rock vs. Franklin, District 10 Class AAA consolation game, TBA