Can three Rhoadses trump two Novaceks?

That's the question that will be on everyone's lips when the SlipperyRock High School girls basketball team, featuring Jence, Karly and Kourtney Rhoads, plays Hopewell, which sports twin towers Joyce and Becky Novacek, Saturday afternoon.

The stakes couldn't be higher at Sharon High School when the ball is tipped at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

But Hopewell coach Chris Raso said the game might not revolve around a sister act.

"It's going to come down to other people other than the Rhoadses and the Novaceks," Raso said. "It is kind of unique, though, in the fact there will be two sets of twins on the floor at the same time."

Karly and Kourtney are twins; so are Joyce and Becky Novacek.

The real question is which set of sisters have the better supporting cast?

In Slippery Rock's 12-game winning streak, players like senior Emma Walter and freshmen SarahCessar and Ali Doyle have given the Rhoads trio a lot of help.

At Hopewell, senior guards JordanZuppe and Sarah Haluska have contributed in many ways.

But the Vikings' game plan never wavers much: toss the ball into one of the Novacek twins and let her go.

"We're not flashy," Raso said. "We do what works. But sometimes we can go outside and run up and down the floor."

Hopewell (28-2) seems to have done no wrong the last two seasons.

The Vikings won the WPIAL and the state titles last season. They recaptured the WPIAL championship this season.

Hopewell has won 22 straight games and is 58-5 in the last two years.

"It's a lot harder the second year," Raso said. "One thing about our kids, though, is most of them are pretty level-headed."

And pretty tall.

The Novacek twins are both 6-foot-2. Joyce is heading to Bucknell University to play Division I basketball. Becky is off to the University of Dayton (Ohio) to play Division I volleyball.

Zuppe is 5-7 and Haluska is 5-10.

Slippery Rock is undersized in comparison.

That makes Emma Walter even more important for the Rockets.

Walter, at 6-foot, is the inside presence Slippery Rock needs against the Novacek twins.

She's coming off what might be her best game of the season with six points, 13 rebounds and several blocked shots against Lewistown.

"She had a great game for us in the last game," said Slippery Rock coach Adrienne Orris. "She definitely played like we need her to play."

Slippery Rock can always turn to Jence Rhoads, but Raso isn't going to forget about the rest of the team.

"If you focus on Jence Rhoads and ignore everyone else, you are going to be in trouble," the coach said. "Slippery Rock reminds me of us a couple of years ago with the good, young talent they have."

Hopewell is clearly the more experienced team, as the Vikings have played 15 playoff games the last two seasons.

But the Rockets have shown uncommon character for such a young team.

"Other people outside our circle have commented on how much poise we have shown," Orris said. "I asked them today, 'Is that how it's going to be on Saturday?'"