MEADVILLE — Slippery Rock girls basketball displayed the type of play that had brought it to Saturday’s District 10 Class 4A championship game, but not quite long enough to take down defending champion Harbor Creek.

The Rockets held a pair of one-point leads in the fourth quarter, but the Huskies gained the lead for good with Ella Thompson’s bucket with 46 seconds remaining as they claimed their second straight district crown with a 49-46 win at Meadville High School.

“We had some missed opportunities, missed some free throws, but so did Harbor Creek,” Slippery Rock head coach Jeff Steele said. “This was a really good high school basketball game. I hope everyone enjoyed it.”

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A steal by Brielle Jordan led to Madison Romanovich’s basket that gave Slippery Rock a 42-41 edge with two minutes left.

Romanovich, who finished the game with 14 points, added two free throws for a 44-43 lead with 1:01 on the clock.

But Thompson scored the last six points of the game, including four from the line.

Slippery Rock’s Vanessa Hinkle scored late, but a desperation shot from shy of midcourt by Jordan wasn’t close as time expired.

In the second half, the Rockets (19-5) struggled to find the offense that had yielded 19 points in the second quarter and a 25-24 lead at halftime.

“Brielle hit a big 3 for us, and we got out in transition,” Steele said of the second period. “We’ve had a lot of games this year when we had two or three spurts like that on offense. Today, we had just one.”

A focal point for Slippery Rock’s defense was Harbor Creek (21-4) senior guard Arianna Denning, the team leader with nearly 20 points per game. She was held to six points Saturday.

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“This is the second straight game that Brielle has played very good defensively against a college-level player,” Steele said.

But others stepped up for the Huskies.

Sophomore Jocelynn Bissell scored a game-high 15 points, including eight in the first period as the Huskies jumped out to an 11-5 lead.

Carolina Surovick drained three treys, and Delaney Eaglen, in her first game back from a broken arm, hit a trey with four seconds left in the third period to put her team up 35-33 with eight minutes left.

“We know those girls can do it,” Huskies’ head coach Dave Snippert said. “When they get open, they can attack.”

Snippert had his own concerns on defense entering the game, with Romanovich carrying a 23-point average.

“I watched a lot of film on them, and she is one of, if not the best, player we’ve faced,” he said. “She can get to the basket and shoot from the outside. We tried to make things difficult for her with double-teams.”

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Jordan added 14 points in the loss, and Hinkle reached double digits with 12.

As District 10 runner-up, the Rockets will open the state playoffs against Elizabeth Forward, the fourth-place team from District 7, on Saturday, March 7, at a time and site to be determined. The PIAA brackets will be announced Sunday.

“I’ll give the girls a few days off to get a break from me and each other,” Steele said.

“I am proud of what we have accomplished,” said Hinkle, a sophomore forward. “We will be motivated for states.”

HARBOR CREEK 49

Arianna Denning 2 1-2 6, Alexis Janke 1 2-4 4, Ella Thompson 2 5-8 9, Jocelynn Bissell 6 2-3 15, Carolina Surovick 3 0-0 9, Delaney Eaglen 2 1-2 6. Totals: 16 11-19 49.

SLIPPERY ROCK 46

Brielle Jordan 3 6-10 14, Madison Romanovich 5 3-8 14, Vanessa Hinkle 5 1-1 12, Gia Kovacik 2 0-0 4, Isabel Drake 0 2-4 2, Jolin Lin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 12-23 46.

Harbor Creek 11 13 11 14 — 49

Slippery Rock 6 19 8 13 — 46

3-point goals: Harbor Creek 6 (Surovick 3, Denning, Bissell, Eaglen); Slippery Rock 4 (Jordan 2, Romanovich, Hinkle)

Saturday: PIAA Class 4A first round, Slippery Rock vs. Elizabeth Forward, at TBD