SLIPPERY ROCK — Coach Laurel Heilman smiled, shrugged her shoulders and offered the best explanation she could as to how her Slippery Rock University women's basketball team can overcome its lack of height in a league full of menacing post players.

"The best that we can," Heilman said.

The coach is going to have to go small, spread out the floor and attack offensively and defensively with a group of athletic, albeit short, backcourt players.

SRU opens the season Friday in the Clarion Classic against Pitt-Johnstown at 4 p.m..

"We'll see how it goes," Heilman said. "You can't teach them to grow, so you do the best you can with what you have and do your best sometimes."

The Rock enters the 2007-2008 season with three legitimate post players — all of whom are battling back from some kind of injury.

In the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West —which features standout inside players such as Shippensburg University's Lauren Beckley (5-foot-11), Edinboro's Kelsey Conklin (6-1), Indiana (Pa.) University's Staci Heberling (5-11) and returning conference player of the year Jahzinga Tracey (6-1) — that's a dangerous situation.

But Heilman has a plan. She hopes an aggressive, pressing defense can cause turnovers and burn time off the shot clock to give the opponent less time to get into a half-court game — and the basketball to the towers inside.

"We're going to try to press more than we have in the past to try to make things happen," Heilman said.

That's not to say The Rock is completely devoid of potential in the paint.

Senior forward Nijha McNeely returns after averaging 7.2 points and a team-leading 4.8 rebounds per game last season. McNeely started just 11 games last year, but flashed the ability to be a force inside.

"I think Nijha McNeely can be an all-conference post player," Heilman said. "The skill is there. The will to be the go-to player is there — she wants the ball in crunch time. We just need to get a more consistent work ethic from her, and she's still recovering from an ankle injury she suffered in the last practice last season."

Haley Gaidosh, who had an injury-plagued campaign last season with stress fractures in both feet, also returns. She is the tallest player on the roster at 6-1 and perhaps the most green.

"She's really a true freshman and learning as she goes," Heilman said. "But she has a lot of talent."

There is little doubt, though, that The Rock will be driven by the play of its guards.

Sophomore point guard Nikki Presto is perhaps the most dangerous player on the SRU roster.

She averaged 8.3 points per game last year, but proved to be dangerous on the perimeter as well as driving to the hoop.

"Nikki is relentless. She's everywhere," Heilman said. "Her best ball is in the open floor. But she has to do a better job taking care of the ball and understanding the value of a possession."

Amanda Nero, who led The Rock in scoring at 10.1 points per game, Chere' Marshall, Jessica Schake and St. Bonaventure transfer and Grove City High graduate Julie Molloy will round out the deep guard rotation.

Heilman said it would not be unusual for The Rock to have four or even five guards on the floor at the same time.

Molloy played sparingly at St. Bonaventure last year as a freshman and decided to return closer to home. Molloy played point guard at Grove City and averaged more than 20 points per game as a senior. She is also a dangerous shooter from the outside and has some height at 5-9.

"We feel we have some flexibility with our lineups on the floor, which is good," Heilman said. "Julie definitely gives us some added depth. I think she's ready to go. She just hasn't been in the rotation long enough to feel comfortable yet. That year at Division I — you can't teach experience.

"Julie will make a big impact for us, Heilman added. "She gives us a taller presence on the perimeter. We're expecting big things from her."