SLIPPERYROCK — Monday is mail day at the Rhoads household.

Every week, junior Jence Rhoads receives about 40 letters from various colleges and universities, each clamoring for her basketball services when she graduates from Slippery Rock HighSchool in 2007.

Monday seems to be the day when the most pour in from all corners of the country. It fills the mailbox to the brim and presents Rhoads with an afternoon full of opening envelopes.

There's no secret why Rhoads is so coveted.

If there were fantasy basketball leagues for high school players, she would be the clear No. 1 pick.

Her statistics are certainly eye-catching and jaw-dropping.

The 5-foot-11 point guard led the area in scoring at 21.9 points per game and also averaged 7.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 3.8 steals per contest.

She also blocked 46 shots and shot 75.7 percent from the free throw line.

It's no wonder that Rhoads was chosen as the Butler County Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

"It's a great honor, obviously," said Rhoads. "Whether you win it once or two times, it's great to win it."

SlipperyRock coach Gene Rodgers has almost run out of superlatives when talking about his star player.

"With Jence, her ability to take over a game is just fantastic," Rodgers said. "But what makes her such a valuable player is she knows she's capable of taking a game over, but she'd rather get all of her teammates involved. That's what being an MVPis all about.

"I think with Jence — with her work ethic — the sky is the limit on what she can do in this game."

Rhoads has scored 1,493 points in her career and has a reasonable shot at 2,000 before her career concludes.

That has made her a hot commodity in the recruiting wars.

But Rhoads has kept a level head about the whole process. She looks forward to filtering through her mounds of mail. To her, it's like Christmas every week.

"I get excited when I get a letter from somewhere new," she said. "I wonder what's going to be in this one. There's been a lot of schools I've never heard of, even some Division I schools."

Most of the letters are clear cut: simple correspondence that makes Rhoads aware the school is interested in her.

Some take different approaches to try to get her attention.

"They send different things, like catchy phrases, motivational sayings, news articles about their team," Rhoads said.

Rhoads said she would like to make a decision about where she will go to college before her senior season. She wants to enjoy her final year on the court in high school without the stress of picking a college and dealing with recruiters.

She has another reason to want all distractions out of the way for her senior season.

Her twin sisters, Kourtney and Karly, will be freshmen next year.

"I'm excited about it," Jence said. "I hope they are, too. I've been looking forward to it forever. Obviously, I'm going to miss (seniors) Casey (McCaffrey), Abby (Basta) and Jess (Fry) next season. Next season we're going to have to score more because our defense isn't going to be as good. My sisters are shooters."

This season, Rhoads helped the Rockets get over the playoff barrier that plagued them during her first two years.

During her freshman and sophomore seasons, SlipperyRock lost its first postseason game. This year, the Rockets beat Mercyhurst Prep and Villa Maria in the District 10 playoffs.

That was more satisfying to Rhoads than any post-season award.

"Especially for Abby, Casey and Jess," Rhoads said. "We didn't want them having a senior year not winning in the playoffs."

Rhoads doesn't plan on resting on her considerable skills this off-season. She has an active itinerary planned for this summer.

"I'm going to lift weights to get stronger to play in college," Rhoads said. "I'm going to work on my (3-point shot). I feel that's the weakest thing right now. I'm going to keep shooting and keep playing."