SLIPPERY ROCK - Patience.

The Slippery Rock High School girls basketball team had it in abundance Monday night.

With Grove City playing a stonewalling 2-3 zone defense, the Rockets spent most of the first half showing off their passing skills on the perimeter.

But when the weaknesses in the Eagles' fortress were revealed, Slippery Rock exploited them on the way to a 37-22 win at the Rock Box.

"That 2-3 zone has been very good for (Grove City coach) Roger (Flynn)," said Slippery Rock coach Gene Rodgers. "We were able to hit a couple of shots."

It took awhile, though.

After Alissa Chutz hit a jumper to give Grove City a 2-0 lead in the game's first minute, it took four more for Slippery Rock to crack the scoreboard.

The Rockets spent the time shuffling personnel, trying to find the best way to attack the zone.

Once it did, Slippery Rock outscored Grove City 18-5 to take a commanding lead at the break.

"We did a pretty good job defensively, but they probably possessed the ball 12 of the 16 minutes (in the first half)," Flynn said. "They had the ball for such a disproportionate amount of time. It's especially difficult to play zone for a long time. We eventually wore down."

Slippery Rock started the game with sophomore Jence Rhoads at point guard, but Rodgers quickly moved her into the high post.

The tactic worked, as the Rockets were able to get the ball into Rhoads, who chose either to drive to the basket, to pull up for a jumper, or to pass to a teammate.

Rhoads finished with a game-high 20 points. She scored nine of those points in the third quarter as the Rockets increased their lead to 17.

Senior Emily Skoczlas was big for Slippery Rock in the early going, when the forward hit all three of her shots in the first half and finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

"Emily has been an unsung hero of ours this year, sort of like what Danielle Hogue did for us last year," Rodgers said. "She gets the garbage stuff, but she gets big rebounds and hits big shots. You don't read a lot about her in the paper, but without her, I don't know where we'd be."

Slippery Rock's defense also gave Grove City some problems.

It didn't help that the Eagles were as cold as the elements outside the gym in the first half.

After the initial basket by Chutz, Grove City misfired on 20 of its next 21 shots in the first half.

Throw in eight turnovers, and you have recipe for a disastrous result.

Down by 17 heading into the fourth quarter, there was really nothing Grove City could do.

The Eagles were able to cut the lead down to 12 with a brief scoring spurt, but that was as close as they could get.

Julie Molloy, who started the game 1-for-9 shooting, ended up with 11 points to lead Grove City.

The loss certainly hurts Grove City's chances at contending for a region title, but the Eagles are still very much in the hunt for a playoff spot.

The win was a much-needed one for Slippery Rock, which had lost four of its last five, including three in overtime.

"Our losses, all of them have been on the road, except for Franklin, but that wasn't on our home floor," Rodgers said. "We were on our court tonight, and we felt like we had a pretty good chance to win here."

GROVE CITY 22

Christa Campbell 0-3 0-2 0, Julie Molloy 5-15 0-1 11, Ashley McKnight 0-2 0-0 0, Stephanie Blakley 0-0 0-0 0, Alissa Chutz 2-8 0-2 5, Jenna Kelly 1-7 3-6 5, Sheila Ogden 0-3 1-2 1. Totals: 8-37 4-13 22

SLIPPERY ROCK 37

Robin Craig 1-10 0-0 2, Abby Basta 1-5 1-2 3, Casey McCaffrey 2-9 0-0 4, Emily Skoczlas 4-7 0-0 8, Jence Rhoads 9-15 1-2 20. Totals: 17-46 2-4 37

3-point goals:

JV:

Grove City 33-22

3-point goals:

Chutz, Molloy, Rhoads

Thursday:

Grove City @ Moniteau; Titusville @ Slippery Rock