SLIPPERY ROCK — Coach Gene Rodgers had seen his Slippery Rock girls basketball team knock off one giant in the playoffs, but he and the Rockets were facing yet another one Wednesday

Beating Mercyhurst Prep last Saturday in the District 10 Class AAA playoffs was one thing, but having to come back against the No. 4 ranked team in the state in Villa Maria seemed like a tall order.

The Rockets, however, were up to the challenge.

Jence Rhoads' 3-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation helped to force overtime, then the Rockets sank five free throws in the extra period and stole the ball in the closing seconds to pull out a 51-48 win over the Victors at Slippery Rock University.

"To be honest, I didn't think we had a chance," said Rodgers. "I didn't know how we'd be able to stop their scorers.

"These girls are resilient. We've been a second-half team," Rodgers added.

"We were definitely pumped up," said Rhoads, who finished with a game-high 24 points. "We were coming off our first playoff game, at least us on this team in high school.

"Beating Mercyhurst helped our confidence, but we didn't know what to expect." Rhoads added.

The Rockets were without starting guard Abby Basta, who injured her ankle in the Mercyhurst game.

If that wasn't bad enough, Slippery Rock trailed 23-13 with 2:55 left before halftime.

Then, the Rockets scored nine of the next 11 points, including four points from Casey McCaffrey and a 3-pointer by Rhoads, to make it 25-22 with 23 seconds left.

A basket by Brittany Wilwohl with one second remaining gave the Victors (23-3) a five-point lead at the break.

"I thought we'd be OK if we were within reach, and if we were, we would be poised down the stretch with Jence and the seniors," said Rodgers. "I thought our poise held up."

Danielle Drake and McCaffrey opened the second half with baskets to pull the Rockets to within one point, but Villa opened another five-point advantage.

That's when the Rockets closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run, highlighted by a pair of free throws from Rhoads with 2:44 left to give the squad its first lead of the night, then a half-court buzzer beater for a 39-35 Rockets' lead.

Villa Maria regained the lead when Megan Hoffman hit a trey 26 seconds into the fourth quarter. A basket by Nicole DiRaimo made it 40-39 with 4:33 left.

The Victors held a 42-41 lead and missed four consecutive free throws before Wilwohl sank two with 17.5 seconds left.

Rhoads then took the inbounds pass, drove down the court and waited for a small opening from beyond the arc before draining the trey to tie the game and send it to overtime.

In the extra frame, the Rockets got free throws apiece from Rhoads and McCaffrey in the first 24 seconds for a 48-44 lead.

Slippery Rock was nursing a 50-46 lead after Rhoads stole the ball with 1:20 remaining. The Rockets maintained possession until DiRaimo stole the ball and scored with 34.4 seconds.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Villa's Maura Natale stole the ball and missed a quick shot. Rhoads grabbed the rebound, but inadvertently kicked the ball away.

Villa tried to set up a shot, but the ball was tied up with 13.2 seconds left and the possession arrow went to the Victors. With 8.3 seconds left, again, the ball was tied up with the Rockets gaining possession.

McCaffrey was fouled and sank a free throw with 7.6 seconds left, but Villa never got a shot off as it lost possession inside the 3-point line and the Rockets scooped up the ball as time expired.

"It was pretty much a hard-fought game," said Villa coach Scott Dibble. "Both teams played well. We missed some free throws down the stretch.

"It's a piece of humble pie. I told the girls, 'Hey, live and learn.' I thought Slippery Rock shot lights out," Dibble added.

The Rockets will now face the winner of the Franklin-Meadville game in the championship game. The Rockets also have clinched a state playoff berth.

This marks the second time Rodgers has led a team to the district finals. He also led the Butler boys team to the 1999-2000 WPIAL championship game.

"This team compares to Butler because of a great team concept," said Rodgers. "Everyone is in it for each other. It's been great coaching these girls. It's just like coaching those guys."

Notes:

McCaffrey added 18 points for the Rockets. Wilwohl and DiRaimo had 19 and 18, respectively, for Villa. … The Victors saw their 20-game winning streak snapped.

SLIPPERY ROCK 51

Danielle Drake 2 0-0 4, Shanea Raabe 0 0-0 0, Jence Rhoads 8 5-9 24, Casey McCaffrey 7 3-4 18, Jessica Fry 0 1-2 1, Jenna Rinker 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 9-15 51.

VILLA MARIA 48

Megan Hoffman 1 0-0 3, Brittany Wilwohl 7 4-7 19, Amy Oldach 2 1-2 5, Ashley Rabell 0 1-2 1, Nicolle DiRaimo 7 4-6 18, Maura Natale 0 2-2 2, Tina Nicolia 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Lasky 0 0-0 0, Samantha Schmidt 0 0-1 0. Totals: 17 12-20 48.

3-point goals:

Rhoads 3, McCaffrey; Hoffman, Wilwohl

Next:

District 10 Class AAA championship game-Slippery Rock vs. Franklin-Meadville winner, date, time and site TBD