JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley girls basketball team traveled to West Allegheny last week.

Things did not go well.

For a young team, that could have been a bad omen. Instead, the Raiders responded.

And put a smile on coach Rob Lombardo's face.

“They matured in three days more than I actually expected,” Lombardo said.

The maturity showed Monday night against Mars. Seneca Valley spent most of the game building sizable leads only to watch the Planets whittle away at it.

Each time Mars got within a basket of the lead or a tie, the Raiders increased the margin and held on for a 52-47 home victory.

“Sometimes a loss is a big character builder,” Lombardo said of the setback to West Allegheny. “Their character really came through tonight.”

The Raiders (3-2) never trailed, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game and led 25-19 at the half.

Mars (2-3) cut the Seneca Valley advantage to 33-31 with 1:25 remaining in the third quarter and had possession, but Bella Pelaia's 3-pointer rimmed out.

The Raiders then went on a 9-1 run to build another comfortable lead.

Mars again rallied and trailed 45-42 with 2:30 left in the game, but Seneca Valley held the Planets off again and rebuilt a comfortable margin.

Even in the waning seconds, Mars had a chance, down by three. But McKenna Gross sank a pair of free throws with two seconds on the clock to clinch the win.“I'm the worse sore loser there is, but it wasn't from lack of effort,” said Mars coach Dana Petruska. “We just have to place more value on the ball. Instead of trying to thread the needle ... we have to learn to take care of the ball better. I think it'll help us down the road.”

So will playing two freshmen while junior Tai Johnson continues to recover from injury.

“The other kids are getting better with Tai out. They have no choice,” Petruska said. “That's what games like this do for us.

“When she does come back,” Petruska said, “we'll be that much deeper.”

Lauren Wasylson paced Mars with 18 points. She missed most of the first quarter after she crashed to the floor onto her left hip and hobbled to the bench.

The senior guard appeared unaffected by the tumble when she returned near the end of the quarter.

What affected Mars was Seneca Valley's smothering defense.

The Planets shot just 15 of 49 from the floor, which helped the Raiders keep Mars at arm's length.

“When you play a team like that, you know they're going to score,” Lombardo said. “You know they're going to make a run. We just kept telling them, 'Hey, let's play our game. Let's be solid. They're going to make a run, but we're going to make a run, too.'”

Gross finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Sophomore Haley Cramer scored 14 points — nine coming in the first quarter — and junior Gretchen Koken added seven points and 10 rebounds.

The game had a section feel to it.

“Because they're right up the street and they're a good basketball team,” Lombardo said. “We're a young team and you have to win home games.”

MARS 47

Alek Johnson 2-9 0-0 6, Lauren Wasylson 5-13 6-8 18, Nichole Sommers 1-4 1-2 3, Bella Pelaia 4-16 0-0 8, Regan Kramm 1-2 1-2 3, Ellie Coffield 2-5 4-4 9, Mara Fuller 0-0 0-0 0, Daria Hockenberry 0-0 0-0 0, Carolina Barent 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Lockette 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-49 12-16 47.

SENECA VALLEY 52

Gretchen Koken 1-7 5-8 7, Haley Cramer 3-9 7-8 14, Maddie Karchut 3-6 2-5 8, McKenna Gross 8-19 5-6 22, Karlie Martin 0-3 0-0 0, Lexi Peffer 0-1 1-2 1, Jaden Davinsizer 0-0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Wolfe 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Thompson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-45 20-29 52.

Mars 11 8 12 16 — 47

Seneca Valley15 10 10 17 — 52

3-point goals: Mars 5 (Johnson 2, Wasylson 2, Coffield); Seneca Valley 2 (Cramer, Gross)

Today: Montour at Mars

Thursday: Pine-Richland at Seneca Valley