SLIPPERY ROCK — Adrienne Orris pulled Bre Northcott aside by the scorer's table and gave the freshman forward some simple instructions.

"Get in there and get the ball," said the Slippery Rock High girls basketball coach. "Rebound."

Not only did Northcott rebound, she scored, too.

Northcott's second-half boost was the difference as Slippery Rock overcame a sluggish start to dispatch Corry 46-33 in the first round of the District 10, Class AAA playoffs at Morrow Field House Saturday night.

"I just wanted to do my best and prove myself," Northcott said. "It feels fantastic. All the girls are amazing and for me to be able to play with them is a great experience."

Northcott, who has played sparingly this season, scored 14 points — 10 in the pivotal second half — and also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

"I usually have a rule that I don't yell at my freshmen," Orris said, smiling. "At this point, all those rules get thrown out the door. When I have something I need them to do, I get in their face. I told her I have one thing I need from her: Rebounding."

Slippery Rock (17-6) was in desperate need of a presence on the boards after an ugly first half.

Corry (12-11) built a 21-16 halftime lead largely on the strength of second, third and sometimes fourth opportunities.

The Beavers held a 14-0 advantage over the Rockets on the offensive boards and were outrebounding their foe at a better than 2-to-1 clip.

Because of that, Slippery Rock took a mere 17 shots from the field in the first two quarters while Corry launched 30 attempts.

Part of the problem was the Rockets were missing leading rebounder Sarah Cessar, who missed the game due to illness.

"Missing that other rebounder in there hurt us," Orris said. "All year, everyone has had a role and my guards haven't had the role of rebounding."

Less than a minute and three more Corry offensive rebounds later, Orris put Northcott into the game.

She never left.

The difference was obvious. By the end of the game, the rebounding totals between the two teams were nearly even after being dramatically skewed in Corry's favor in the first 16 minutes.

The second half score was dramatically skewed in the Rockets' favor.

Slippery Rock used an 11-2 run to tie the game at 27-27 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. By the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Rockets had a 10-point lead.

"Slippery Rock is a high-powered team," said Corry coach Sarah Grab. "I told my girls that if we hold them under 50 points, we have a chance to win. We did that. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way."

Corry held Slippery Rock to a season-low 46 points. That's nothing new for the Beavers, who have been holding teams in the 30s routinely this season.

In the first half, Grab's defensive plan — namely keeping Karly and Kourtney Rhoads from penetrating or spotting up for open 3-pointers, was working to perfection.

"I'm so proud of the way we played in the first half," Grab said. "They are a very good team. Hey, they are better than us. But we played our hearts out and that's all I can ask for."

Karly Rhoads led the Rockets with 17 points despite being held scoreless in the second and third quarters.

The junior guard made up for it in the fourth quarter with nine points.

Emily Greer paced Corry with 18 points.

Slippery Rock will now take on 21-1 General McLane at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sharon HighSchool.

Even if the Rockets lose, they will come back to play in a consolation game for the third and final spot in the state playoffs out of the district.

"We have at least four more practices and two more games," Orris said. "This one (againstCorry) was the toughest one to get because one loss, and we are done."

CORRY 33Kristen Dennis 1-5 2-2 4, Megan Frisina 3-22 0-0 7, Meghan Carney 0-2 0-0 0, Sarah Curtis 1-5 0-0 2, Nicole Taydus 0-3 2-2 2, Tiffani Danks 0-0 0-0 0, Tiffany Jaggi 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Greer 6-11 6-6 18. Totals: 11-50 10-10 33

SLIPPERYROCK 46KarlyRhoads 8-17 1-3 17, Ali Doyle 0-3 0-0 0, Kourtney Rhoads 2-5 2-4 7, Adele Campbell 4-5 0-0 8, Taylor Crocker 0-2 0-0 0, Bre Northcott 6-7 2-2 14. Totals: 20-39 5-9 46

Corry 8 13 8 4—33Slippery Rock 10 6 15 15—463-point goals: Frisina; Ko. Rhoads

Wednesday: Slippery Rock vs. General McLane at Sharon HighSchool, 8 p.m.