Heading for Hershey!
STATE COLLEGE — A third-quarter lull had plagued Mars' girls basketball team during a number of games this season.
Maybe it would happen again. Maybe a poor start to the second half would erase a halftime lead and keep the Planets from advancing to the state championship game in Hershey.
Maybe not.
Five 3-pointers in the third period allowed Mars to keep its firm grip on Archbishop Carroll and the Patriots never escaped in the Planets' 52-39 PIAA Class 5A semifinal victory at State College High School.
Mars (23-6) will face Archbishop Wood (22-7) in the state final at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Mars hit eight treys in Saturday's game. The two drained by Lauren Wasylson from well beyond the arc in the third period jump-started a 17-10 run in the quarter. It added to the 25-13 cushion the Planets had carried into the second half.
“At halftime, we told our girls to take it one possession at a time,” said Patriots' coach Renie Shields. “You can't score 12 points in one possession, but Mars played extremely well and shot the ball extremely well. When that happens, there's not much you can do.”
“We shoot a lot of 3s in practice,” said Mars coach Dana Petruska. “Our five starters and Ellie Coffield can hit a lot of them. Those 3s we hit today...Wow!”
But just as impressive as the outside shooting was Mars' play on defense. Petruska knew that Patriots' senior guard Molly Masciantonio was their biggest threat.
“It's hard to get tape on teams from District 12, but we got two and were able to get some valuable things out of them,” said Petruska. “I don't think (Masciantonio) believed we could guard her. I think she was shocked at how much we knew about her. Nichole Sommers deserves a lot of credit. She got a little help, but Nichole was on her all game.”
Masciantonio led the Patriots (18-8) with 16 points, though 12 of them came in the fourth quarter with the Planets holding a comfortable advantage.“I knew she was taller than me and that I had to keep her from driving,” Sommers said. “I had to play tough defense.”With Masciantonio struggling for much of the game, the Patriots slumped to a 15-of-44 effort from the field.“We usually shoot better than that, but Mars was clearly the better team,” said Shields.The Planets never trailed, building an 11-4 lead by the end of the first period. Junior guard Tai Johnson contributed eight of her game-high 20 points to the opening run.“I didn't want to force anything,” said Johnson. “I know that if I play at my pace, I can dictate the pace of the game.“With the game being pushed back (twice because of the recent snow storm), the excitement just built up in us and we carried it into today.”Johnson and Wasylson (13 points) combined for 33 points. Johnson, who stands just 5-7, also pulled down eight rebounds.“They're both 3-year starters and they're seasoned,” said Petruska. “The fight they've shown, I can't say enough about them.”MARS 52Tai Johnson 9 0-0 20, Alek Johnson 4 0-0 11, Lauren Wasylson 5 1-1 13, Bella Pelaia 3 1-2 8, Nichole Sommers 0 0-0 0, Ellie Coffield 0 0-0 0, Daria Hockenberry 0 0-0 0, Regan Kramm 0 0-0 0, Mara Fuller 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 2-3 52.ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 39Mary DeSimone 1 0-0 3, Karli Dougherty 1 2-2 4, Erin Sweeney 4 0-2 9, Molly Masciantonio 6 0-0 16, Kaitlyn Roccio 1 0-0 2, Harlem Jennings 2 1-2 5, Wynter Bess 0 0-0 0, Alli Dreager 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 3-6 39.Mars 11 14 17 10 — 52Archbishop Carroll 4 9 10 16 — 393-point goals: Mars 8 (A. Johnson 3, T. Johnson 2, Wasylson 2, Pelaia); Archbishop Carroll 6 (Masciantonio 4, Sweeney, DeSimone).Wednesday: Mars vs. Archbishop Wood, PIAA Class 5A championship game in Hershey, 6 p.m.
