ADAMS TWP — Mars girls basketball coach Dana Petruska admits she is surprised at how the season has played out so far.

Not that she’s complaining.

With Thursday’s 61-57 win over Hampton, the Planets grabbed a share of the Section 1-AAA title. They enter tonight’s regular-season finale against Moon sporting a 16-5 overall record.

“I thought we would make the (WPIAL) playoffs, but I didn’t think we’d do this well,” said Petruska, who is in the first year of her second stint with the Planets after directing a dramatic turnaround of the girls program at Deer Lakes.

“At the start of the season, I knew we had a lot of youth and inexperience, so I’m really excited about what we’ve accomplished. I’m pleasantly surprised.”

A trio of players have shouldered the brunt of the scoring responsibility, with freshman point guard Tai Johnson (15.5 points per game), junior shooting guard Nicole McCloud (13) and sophomore swing player Lauren Wasylson (12) all managing double figures.

Guard Bri Buzard and forward Elise Sheehy, both seniors, round out the team’s starting five. Forwards Daria Hockenberry and Hannah Ryan have provided valuable minutes off the bench.

“We are comfortable together on the court,” said McCloud. “Over the course of the season, we have gotten to know how everyone plays.”

McCloud and Wasylson are Mars’ two captains. Beyond their production on the stat sheet, both have grown as team leaders.

“They led more by example at the start of the season,” Petruska said, “but they are now vocal leaders as well and that’s good to see. They are good captains in that, if they see an issue, they’ll take care of it and don’t run from it. They aren’t bossy, but they talk to the team about it.”

Despite Wasylson’s status as an underclassman, it’s a role she relishes.

“It’s a special thing for me,” she said. “Being a leader has always come natural for me and I want to make the team better. Nicole and I show the other girls the right way to do things.”

McCloud was optimistic about the Planets’ chances even before the team took the court for its first game of the season.

“I felt it in our first practice, the amount of intensity was different than in past years,” she said. “We are a team. We play for each other and not just for ourselves.”

Petruska’s coaching style seems to be a perfect fit with this year’s Planets.

“I’m not a whole lot different on the bench as I am in the classroom,” said Petruska, a long-time physical education teacher at Mars. “I’m intense and expect respect and discipline.”

Mars entered last week’s game against Hampton with no shortage of confidence, having won six straight games. But the victory over the Talbots has taken it to another level.

“Hampton is extremely good and they are our arch-rival,” Wasylson said. “After that game, our confidence went through the roof.”

Intangibles have played a big role in Mars’ success thus far and will have a say in how long the team can extend its season.

“I have never coached a team that gets along as well as this group,” said Petruska. “It’s been a fun year.”