GROVE CITY — Slow tempo? No problem.

The Slippery Rock High School girls basketball team likes to run. The Rockets like to turn pressure into points and small leads into big ones.

But they showed Monday night against Grove City on the road that they could win under different conditions.

Slippery Rock slogged its way through a somewhat sloppy and methodical game, beating the Eagles 40-32.

"Playing (Grove City coach Roger Flynn) here, you just never know what to expect," said Slippery Rock coach Gene Rodgers. "He's a genius. It was a struggle."

Flynn and the Eagles were determined to bottle up Slippery Rock with a smothering zone. For the most part it worked, as the usually explosive Rockets were reduced to just a smattering of outbursts.

One gave the Rockets four-point lead at halftime after the two teams played even for the first 13 minutes.

The second gave Slippery Rock a seven-point advantage with five minutes remaining in the game and the third put the outcome in little doubt as Slippery Rock scored six straight points over the final two minutes to ice the game.

"We just wanted to give ourselves a chance to win, and, for the most part, I thought we did that," Flynn said. "We never could quite catch them."

Part of the problem was an unfortunate turn of events for Grove City's leading scorer, Julie Molloy.

Late in the first quarter, Molloy began feeling ill. By the time the game was over, she had taken more trips to the locker room in great haste than shots from the floor.

Molloy finished just 3-of-11 from the field for nine points. It was her lowest output of the season.

"She faced a lot of pressure and had some stomach problems," Flynn said. "Her inability to play full speed obviously hurt us some.

"I'm very proud of her. She was definitely hurting and just physically had to leave the game a couple of times, but she was eager to return."

Slippery Rock's defense smothered Molloy when she was on the floor, giving the senior, who is headed to St. Bonaventure University, little wiggle room.

"She's so dangerous," Rodgers said. "We knew if the ball stayed in her hands like the last time, we'd be in trouble."

Molloy scored 23 points against the Rockets in their first meeting in December.

This time around, she was limited to just three shots in the second half as Grove City was trying to make a rally.

Grove City's defense also had the desired effect on slowing down Slippery Rock's star.

Junior point guard Jence Rhoads scored 12 points — 10 below her season average — and took just nine shots from the field.

Instead, Abby Basta did the damage, scoring 12 points of her own, including some big baskets early in the game as Slippery Rock seized control.

Grove City had its own dominating performance from Jenna Kelly.

The junior forward scored a team-leading 12 points and had 14 rebounds. She single-handedly kept the Eagles alive when Molloy wasn't on the floor.

"She was quite a force," Flynn said.

Slippery Rock (15-4, 7-1) has now sets itself up for a late-season run at the region title.

Meanwhile, Grove City (11-9, 2-5) is fighting for its life.

"We still have four games left," Flynn said. "We still have a chance at a playoff spot. We just gave what I think is the best team in the league a scare, and I think we have a chance."

SLIPPERY ROCK 40Jence Rhoads 4-9 4-5 12, Abby Basta 6-13 0-0 12, Casey McCaffrey 3-10 0-0 7, Shanae Raabe 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Fry 1-3 1-2 3, Jenna Rinker 3-8 0-0 6. Totals: 17-43 5-7 40

GROVE CITY 32Julie Molloy 3-11 0-0 9, Jenna Kelly 3-8 6-7 12, Sheila Ogden 2-8 2-3 6, Maggie Orr 1-3 0-0 2, Rachel Ennis 0-3 0-0 0, Kristy Woods 0-0 1-2 1, Caitlin Rothman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 10-34 9-12 32

3-point goals: McCaffrey, Molloy 3

JV: Grove City 44-32

Wednesday: Blackhawk vs. Slippery Rock @ SRU