ADAMS TWP - Sto-Rox had a plan for Taryn Adamski in the first half of Wednesday's championship game of the Mars Girls Christmas Tournament.

The second half, well, that was a different story.

Having blanked the Planets' leading scorer in the first half, Adamski scored nine points in an 11-0 run in the third quarter to help Mars come away with a 61-35 victory.

The Planets also received 10 second-half points from Maggie Bulman to help gain some distance from the Lady Vikings.

"For the most part, Taryn's been our lone big person. One big person and four guards," said Mars coach Dana Petruska. "So, with Maggie in there, they were able to pick up lot more easy baskets."

"We wanted to pack it inside," said Sto-Rox coach Carrie Palermo. "We played a good team. We weren't able to counter-score."

Mars (9-3) held an early 20-12 lead late in the second quarter thanks to three Julie Utz three-pointers.

But in the final two minutes of the half, the Vikings (7-4) used a full-court press that forced a pair of turnovers and prevented the Planets from adding to the lead.

The Vikings, however, scored twice before halftime to cut the deficit to just four points.

In the second half, Megan Gibson opened with a 3-pointer to give Mars a 23-16 lead.

Samantha Papst answered with a lay-up, but the Planets then reeled off 11 consecutive points.

Adamski scored and followed up with a 3-point play to start the run. Baskets by Abby Marshall, Adamski and Heather Carpenter increased the Planets lead to 34-18 with 52 seconds left in the quarter.

The Vikings could pull no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

"We're a softball team playing basketball," said Palermo. "We hit a dry spell in the third quarter. Not to take anything away from Mars, but we can play better. We showed that in the first half."

Utz led Mars with 12 points - on four 3-pointers - while Bulman added 11 and Adamski had 10. In all, nine players scored with eight scoring four or more points.

Mars finished with six 3-pointers; the Vikings with zero.

"In order to have an inside game, you have to have an outside game and to have an outside game, you need an inside game," said Petruska.

"(Mars) is a good 3-point team and we didn't make a three," said Palermo. "When you're making twos and they're making three's, that's a big difference."

Notes:

Adamski was named Tournament MVP. She was joined by Utz and the Vikings' Michelle Kushner, who scored a team-high 11 points, on the all-tournament team.

STO-ROX 35

Lauren Weber 3 0-0 6, Andrea Brown 0 0-0 0, Jessica Buranovsky 1 0-0 2, Michelle Kushner 5 1-2 11, Lindsay Vevers 1 1-3 3, Colleen Connally 3 1-3 7, Samantha Papst 2 2-4 6. Totals: 15 5-12 35.

MARS 61

Taryn Adamski 4 2-3 10, Heather Carpenter 3 0-0 6, Julie Utz 4 0-0 12, Megan Gibson 2 0-0 5, Cara Hudac 2 0-0 4, Alina Hudac 3 0-0 7, Maggie Bulman 4 3-3 11, Abby Marshall 2 0-2 4, Haley Geyer 1 0-0 2, Karly Takach 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 5-8 61.

3-point goals:

Utz 4, A. Hudac, Gibson

Monday:

Mars at North Catholic