SLIPPERY ROCK — One ill-timed foul, two big-time foul shots.

The combination paved the way for Franklin's 54-50 overtime victory over Slippery Rock in the District 10 Class AAA girls basketball championship game Saturday evening at Morrow Field House.

The Rockets (21-6), bidding for their first district title since 1995, had a 45-44 lead and leading scorer Jence Rhoads at the foul line with six seconds left.

Rhoads sank the first free throw, but missed the second. As Franklin sophomore guard Brittany Foust tried dribbling across mid-court, Rhoads reached in and fouled her — with 1.3 seconds remaining.

"That wasn't part of the plan," Slippery Rock coach Gene Rodgers said of the foul. "I asked Jence if she thought we were leading by three and she said no.

"She was trying to poke the ball loose and knock it away. She's done that successfully plenty of times. We play aggressively … It just didn't work out this time."

Foust stepped to the line and sank both shots to force overtime. Franklin (21-6) had missed 12 of its 18 free throws in the contest up until that point.

"We haven't been a good shooting team all year, at the line or otherwise," Franklin assistant coach Bill Hager said. "We've relied on defense to win games.

"For a sophomore to step up and make both shots in that situation is amazing."

Then again, it was an amazing day for the Knights.

Hager was coaching the team because the wife of Franklin head coach Todd Wetjen went into labor Saturday afternoon. She gave birth to a boy at approximately 5 p.m. — the tipoff time for the District 10 title game.

Rhoads' foul in the final second of regulation time was her fifth, meaning her 24 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals would have to sit out the overtime period.

Rodgers moved senior Casey McCaffrey to point guard as the Rockets were already missing senior guard Abbey Basta, who sat out her second consecutive playoff game with an injured ankle.

McCaffrey sank a free throw to give Slippery Rock a one-point lead early in overtime, but Franklin senior Natalie Keith drained a 3-pointer with 3:02 left, added two free throws with 2:19 on the clock, then stole the ball at mid-court and canned a lay-up with 28 seconds to go.

That all added up to a 53-47 Franklin lead.

"I really thought we had a chance in overtime," Rodgers said. "These girls are trained to succeed, with or without Jence. That early 3-pointer to put us behind really hurt."

The Rockets' inability to rebound hurt as well. McCaffrey sank a trey with 18 seconds left to pull the Rockets within 53-50. Keith missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15 seconds left, but teammate Nicole Cherry grabbed the offensive rebound and dished the ball back out to the perimeter.

By the time Slippery Rock fouled Keith again, only 0.8 seconds remained. She sank the first foul shot this time to seal the deal.

Franklin held a 28-14 rebounding advantage in the contest. Keith led the Knights with 21 points while Angela Sterner had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Foust had 13 points and Cherry had seven rebounds.

"We were very fortunate to win this game," Hager said. "Jence Rhoads is clearly the best player in District 10 and she's one of the best in Western Pennsylvania.

"With her not out there in the overtime … It was a big difference."

Slippery Rock defeated Franklin twice during the regular season, 53-44 and 43-25.

The Rockets' biggest lead Saturday was 38-29 with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter. Freshman Jenna Rinker sank a baseline jumper at the end of the third quarter and hit a jumper early in the fourth to give Slippery Rock that margin.

A Rhoads' steal and lay-up had given the Rockets a 44-38 lead with 1:22 left in the final quarter. With a 44-40 advantage, she missed the front end of a one-and-one with 53 seconds left. Sterner then nailed a 3-pointer to tighten the game.

Rhoads missed two of four additional free throws in the waning seconds.

"You get tired out there, your legs start to feel it and that affects free throw shooting," Rodgers said. "Jence works so hard for us. All of these girls do."

Franklin never led by more than three in regulation play.

"It's tough to beat a team three times," Rodgers said. "They run a very deliberate offense and we gave up some easy lay-ups off it.

"Losing a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter is uncharacteristic of us. We took a few bad shots. We'll learn from it."

McCaffrey had 11 points for the Rockets.

Notes:

Franklin won for the 16th time in 17 games. … The Knights had 11 turnovers in the first half, only five combined in the second half and overtime. … The district title is Franklin's third in seven years.

FRANKLIN 54

Natalie Keith 7-12 5-10 21, Nicole Cherry 1-3 0-2 2, Angela Sterner 5-7 1-7 14, Katie Weaver 2-4 0-2 2, Brittany Foust 3-6 5-6 13, Alisha Aylesworth 0-0 0-0 0, Shaniqua Law 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 18-34 11-26 54

SLIPPERY ROCK 50

Danielle Drake 0-3 0-0 0, Shanea Raabe 1-3 0-0 2, Jence Rhoads u8-14 6-9 24, Casey McCaffrey 3-7 3-4 11, Jenna Rinker 3-5 1-2 7, Jessica Fry 2-3 2-2 6. Totals: 17-35 12-17 50

3-point goals:

Keith 2, Stoerner 3, Foust 2; Rhoads 2, McCaffrey 2

Saturday:

PIAA Class AAA Tournament-Slippery Rock vs. Moon at North Hills, 12 p.m.