GROVE CITY — A funny thing happened on the way to a rout for the Grove City High School girls basketball team.

Moniteau woke up.

After falling behind 34-17 early in the third quarter, the Warriors awoke from their shooting slumber and went on a prodigious 22-5 run to tie the score at 39 with 5:22 remaining in the game.

But that's where the run ended for Moniteau, as the Eagles scored the final nine points of the game to escape with a 48-39 win Monday night.

"They made a great run," said Grove City coach Roger Flynn. "Alyssa (Deal) got hot and some other players for them started hitting shots around the same time we went cold."

Grove City (7-3) warmed up at the right time, though.

The Eagles shrugged off their near collapse, thanks in large part to Julie Molloy.

The senior point guard played a perfect game of keep away, milking valuable minutes off the clock and, in the process, drawing double and sometimes triple teams, which left teammates open under the basket for easy layups.

"Julie is certainly a superb ball handler," Flynn said. "She knew it was the right time to start handling the ball more and not taking shots. She did a great job controlling the tempo at the end of the game."

Moniteau (5-6) had no answer for Molloy's scoring ability early.

Molloy scored 15 points in the first quarter and had 19 at the half. She finished with 27 on 12-of-28 shooting.

But Moniteau coach Mark Yeager lamented what Molloy was able to do at the end of the game.

"Once they started holding the ball, we had to go man, and we can't match up with her," Yeager said. "She's a heck of a player."

Deal nearly willed Moniteau back into the game.

The senior guard hit several clutch shots in the second half, including a 3-pointer that tied the score at 39.

Deal finished with 17 points.

Poor rebounding was Moniteau's downfall. The Eagles had twice as many boards as the Warriors, with Jenna Kelly leading the way with 11. Sheila Ogden and Caitlin Rothman combined for 11 more.

"We're real happy with our post play," Flynn said. "They're not big scorers, but they are certainly valuable players because they get a lot of rebounds, play good defense and get some timely baskets."

Kelly was particularly adept at grabbing rebounds and being a general thorn in Moniteau's side.

Kristin Baronetski added 14 points for Moniteau.

Yeager was disappointed with the loss, but not with the way his team fought back after falling behind so quickly.

"I'm proud of my girls," Yeager said. "They played their hearts out. I told them, 'You girls haven't realized how good a team you are.' I told them to just go out there and not worry about the score and play their guts out, then we'll see what the score is at the end of the game."

MONITEAU 39

Amanda Gladd 2-7 0-0 6, Kristen Baronetski 5-10 4-4 14, Amy Gladd 0-2 0-0 0, Samantha Kristufek 1-1 0-0 2, Alyssa Deal 6-20 2-2 17, Jodie Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Maura McCaslin 0-1 0-0 0, Kenzie Timblin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 14-43 6-6 39

GROVE CITY 48

Julie Molloy 12-28 0-0 27, Sheila Ogden 3-5 1-4 7, Jenna Kelly 3-9 0-0 6, Kim Cook 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Ennis 0-5 0-0 0, Lauryn Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, Maggie Orr 1-2 0-0 2, Kristy Woods 2-2 0-0 4, Caitlin Rothman 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 22-56 1-4 48

3-point goals:

Amanda Gladd 2, Deal 3, Molloy 3

Wednesday:

North Clarion at Moniteau

Thursday:

Grove City at Meadville