I didn't have to wait long into the high school basketball season to witness an instant classic.

That's what the game between Mars and Slippery Rock's girls turned into Saturday evening.

The teams met in the championship game of the Rockets' tip-off tournament and the action was back-and-forth.

Slippery Rock built a double-digit lead late in the first quarter, but Mars came back to hold a slim edge by halftime.

Anna Kadlubek's conventional 3-point play at the end of the third quarter handed a 2-point lead to the Rockets, who were up with eight seconds left in the game before Mars forced overtime and the Planets eventually won, 63-57.

Both teams will play games this season with much more on the line, but the action was spirited and intense. The look on Kadlubek's face when she scored and was fouled in the third period could not have been any more intense if this was a game in February or March.

Slippery Rock's Bronwyn McCoy took a charge late in regulation. Mars' Kaitlyn Pelaia blocked a 3-point attempt with 16 seconds remaining in overtime with the Planets up by four points.

Neither team wanted to lose this game, which many people view as simply a tune-up for league play. That mentality goes back to the head coaches — Dana Petruska of Mars and Amber Osborn for Slippery Rock. Their competitive nature permeates throughout their respective teams.

Both coaches also have respect for each other and their teams are mirror images in terms of the way they play the game.

Mars and Slippery Rock are both in Butler County, but play in separate districts, the Planets in the WPIAL and the Rockets in District 10. That added to the intrigue of the game for me.

Mars has now competed in Slippery Rock's tournament six straight years, but I personally had never seen these two programs face off against each other. It was an early-season treat, for sure.

Saturday's game was not a district playoff, a state playoff or even a big section game. But it was high school basketball at its best.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle