JACKSON TWP — On Senior Day, Julia Vandrak produced a senior moment.

Seneca Valley's 5-foot-4 senior guard drained a 3-pointer with 1:33 to play Saturday, quelling a furious Slippery Rock rally and helping the Raiders hold on for a 53-45 girls basketball victory.

The win clinched the first winning season for Seneca Valley (12-7, 4-6) since 2004.

“That was a big-time shot at a time we really needed it,” SV coach Rob Lombardo said. “Slippery Rock was all over us.

“I was putting some different girls in the game because it was Senior Day, but they run an effective press. They have some big, physical girls and they clog up passing lanes.”

The visiting Rockets (10-7) played a disastrous third quarter, getting outscored 20-4, to fall behind by 18 entering the final quarter.

Their full-court pressure forced eight Raider turnovers in that fourth period, however, and a 16-2 run pulled Slippery Rock within 47-43 with 2:48 remaining.

Nicole Papley and Haley Angerett sank treys during the spurt, which was culminated by a three-point play from Morgan Siebka following her own steal in the backcourt.

“These girls know they're never out of a game because of our full-court pressure,” Slippery Rock coach Christin Miller said. “I don't think they (the Raiders) ever solved it.

“We had our chances. We got the shots we wanted down the stretch. We just didn't make enough of them.”

Slippery Rock shot just 27 percent from the floor (17 of 61) on the day and hit only four of 27 shots while being outscored 36-12 in the middle two quarters.

“We've shot over 34 percent maybe three times all year. That's been our bugaboo,” Miller said.

Seneca Valley honored its five seniors — Vandrak, Karlei Fronzaglio, Irene Fernandez, Mary Kate Fullerton and Alex Karika — before the game.

But it was two underclassmen — sophomore Jane Vandrak and freshman Meghan Hess — who helped the Raiders stem the tide in the first half.

With SV trailing 15-9 after the first quarter, Karika went to the bench after picking up her third foul seconds into the second period. She did not return for the rest of the half.

But Jane Vandrak sank four free throws and Hess scored six points — including a trey — as the Raiders assumed a 25-23 halftime lead in Karika's absence.

“That's what the concept of team is all about,” Lombardo said. “Those young girls stepped up big for a teammate.

“Slippery Rock did a good job on Alex. They were able to play her physical enough to keep her from effectively driving to the basket like she normally does.”

Still, Karika had 10 points and six rebounds Saturday, leaving her six points short of passing Nikki Jerome (921 ) for second place on the Raiders' all-time scoring list.

“She's a volleyball player. Basketball isn't even her prime sport. ... This is a tremendous accomplishment for her,” Lombardo said of Karika.

Julia Vandrak paced the Raiders with 13 points. Fronzaglio had eight points and six rebounds.

Siebka led Slippery Rock with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Angerett added 10 points, including three treys. Papley came off the bench to snare nine rebounds as Slippery Rock had a 44-31 advantage on the boards.

“This was a winnable game for us,” Miller said. We need to put together 32-minute games.”

Seneca Valley can reach the WPIAL playoffs with wins over North Allegheny and Butler this week, along with a Shaler loss to Pine-Richland.

“All we can do is take care of our end,” Lombardo said. “Just getting a winning season this year is an important step for our program.”

SLIPPERY ROCK 45Morgan Siebka 5-14 4-7 14, Anna Cessar 1-6 0-0 2, Michelle Hartzell 0-0 0-0 0, Haley Angerett 3-17 1-5 10, Ellie Shaw 0-3 0-0 0, Nicole Papley 2-8 0-0 5, Emily Campbell 2-6 0-0 4, Riley McGonigle 4-6 1-2 9.

Totals: 17-61 7-16 45.

SENECA VALLEY 53Brooke Clifford 2-3 1-4 5, Julia Vandrak 4-9 3-5 13,. Jane Vandrak 0-0 4-4 4, Karlei Fronzaglio 2-4 2-2 8, Meghan Hess 1-3 3-4 6, Katie Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Mary Kate Fullerton 0-1 0-0 0, Amanda Geiger 2-3 2-3 7, Alex Karika 5-13 0-0 10.

Totals: 16-37 15-22 53.

Slippery Rock 15 8 4 18—45Seneca Valley 9 16 20 8—533-point goals: Slippery Rock 4 (Angerett 3, Papley); Seneca Valley 6 (Ju.Vandrak 2, Fronzaglio 2, Hess, Geiger).

Junior varsity: Seneca Valley, 52-43 (SV: Hannah Parey 14, SR: Nicole Papley 16)

Monday: Oil City at Slippery Rock, North Allegheny at Seneca Valley