SLIPPERY ROCK - The shots were falling, the pace was just right and the Rockets were cruising.

Then everything stopped. Everything that went right for the Slippery Rock High School girls basketball team went awry in the final 12 minutes as Franklin rallied for a 48-41 overtime win over the Rockets at Morrow Field House Tuesday night.

"It was frustrating," said Slippery Rock coach Gene Rodgers. "Their defense was very good, but we had a lot of open looks (in the second half) and we didn't put it in the basket."

Slippery Rock (10-2 overall, 2-1 in the region) stormed out quickly, scoring the first eight points of the game. It led 17-8 at the end of the first quarter and held at least a two-basket lead until deep into the fourth quarter.

The Rockets led 37-30 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Franklin scored the final seven points of the game to force overtime.

In the extra period, the Knights (11-0, 3-0) continued their late dominance by scoring eight straight points to put the game away.

"They knocked us off our heels early," said Franklin coach Todd Wetjen. "They shot extremely well, but it's a sign of a good team that we were able to come back. We've been through this many times."

That experience showed for a Franklin team that has now won 36 of its last 38 games.

Slippery Rock shot 13-of-28 from the floor in the first half, but was just 5-of-26 in the second half and overtime.

Wetjen said his team did nothing different on defense.

"We just were able to put a little more pressure on them," the coach said.

Jence Rhoads led Slippery Rock with 16 points, but Franklin was able to contain her dribble penetration most of the game.

"Basically, our plan was to help and recover," Wetjen said. "We needed to stop (Rhoads') penetration and get out on their shooters."

Slippery Rock's shooting touch simply dried up.

"You can draw up all the offensive plays you want, but if you don't hit the open shot, it won't matter," Rodgers said.

Slippery Rock had its own problems stopping the dribble penetration from Franklin, especially in the fourth quarter.

Franklin's Natalie Keith was able to slink through the Rockets' defense down the stretch, scoring all 14 of her points in the second half and overtime.

Slippery Rock's defensive focus was to take away 6-foot center Brittany Law inside, and was able to do so for the most part, holding the senior to 11 points.

"We didn't want to see Law shoot layups," Rodgers said.

Nikki Witherup led Franklin with 15 points.

Casey McCaffrey added 10 for Slippery Rock, which has now lost two in a row after a 10-0 start.

The Rockets led Seneca Valley for most of the game last Thursday before falling to the Raiders.

"We've been getting off to fast starts, but when the third and fourth quarters roll around, we seem to fall off," Rodgers said.

Rodgers, though, isn't concerned that the two losses and how they occurred are the beginning of a dubious trend.

"I think a lot of that is who we've played," Rodgers said. "Seneca Valley was 4-0 in the section before Butler beat them. These girls are resilient."

Wetjen said the game in front of a big crowd and on a college court will help both teams later.

"This was great," Wetjen said. "This was a playoff-like atmosphere. This is going to help both teams come February."

FRANKLIN 48

Nikki Witherup 5-13 5-8 15, Brittany Law 5-11 1-1 11, Hillary Collins 1-3 0-0 2, Natalie Keith 5-12 4-4 14, Emily Clark 2-5 0-0 6, Kristina Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Shannon Onderko 0-2 0-2 0, Brittany Foust 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-43 10-15 48

SLIPPERY ROCK 41

Jence Rhoads 6-17 4-4 16, Abby Basta 2-9 0-0 4, Robin Craig 2-8 0-0 5, Casey McCaffrey 5-11 0-0 10, Emily Skoczlas 3-9 0-0 6, Jessica Fry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-54 4-4 41

3-point goals:

Clark 2, Craig

Thursday:

Oil City @ Slippery Rock