JEFFERSON TWP — Sole possession of second place in Section 1-AAA was up for grabs when Mars' girls basketball team visited Knoch Thursday night.

It was the Planets who reeled off the game's most decisive run.

With the game knotted at 28 early in the third quarter, the Planets outscored the Knights 15-4 over the duration of the period and went on to a 55-43 victory to close the first half of section play.

Mars (6-9, 4-1) now trails only Hampton (5-0) in the section standings.

“Knoch seemed to be comfortable on offense, so we switched to a box-and-one on (Samantha Logan) to try and break their momentum,” said Planets' coach Tony Howard. “It was a defense we hadn't played in a while and the girls handled it well.”

Knoch went 4-of-11 from the field in the third period, but the team's biggest problem was turnovers. The Knights committed seven in the quarter and when Mars' Sarah Getsy knocked down a 2-pointer at the buzzer, Knoch's deficit was 43-32 with eight minutes left to play.

Mars' lead was never threatened down the stretch.

“(Mars) pressured us into mistakes and we compounded the problem by trying to speed things up,” said Knights' coach Sean O'Donnell. “They did what they wanted to do in the second half.”

The Planets got off to a sluggish start, not scoring a point in the first five minutes and 20 seconds of play.

But senior guard Randi Francis ended the period with eight points as the Planets trailed just 11-10 entering the second quarter.

“She really helped us keep our composure in that first quarter,” Howard said of Francis. “She kept the young girls calm and stuck with the game plan.”

Francis ended the game with a career-high 23 points.

“Our energy level just wasn't where it needed to be early in the game,” she said. “But even though we have a lot of young players, we work well together.

“It feels really good to help the team,” added Francis. “I'm a senior and I want to play well.”

Ali Goetz added 16 points in the win, including a 10-of-13 effort from the free throw line.

“I didn't know what to expect at the start of the season, but we're playing with a lot of cohesiveness,” said Howard.

Logan led Knoch (6-6, 3-2) with 13 points, nine coming in the first half.

Despite the loss, Knoch sits alone in third place in the section.

“I would have liked to have been 4-1, but I'll take 3-2,” said O'Donnell. “Hopefully, we can better that in the second half.”

MARS 55Randi Francis 8 6-7 23, Teresa Dallatore 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Mathews 1 2-2 4, Sarah Getsy 4 1-2 9, Ali Goetz 3 10-13 16, Brinsley Evanson 0 0-2 0, Jessica Bunner 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17 19-26 55.

KNOCH 43Celina Sanks 2 4-6 8, Kate Miller 1 0-0 2, Savanna Steffen 1 0-0 2, Samantha Logan 6 0-0 13, Brooke Armahizer 3 2-5 8, Amber Henzel 2 0-0 4, Angela Cress 3 0-0 6.

Totals: 18 6-11 43.

Mars 10 18 15 12—55Knoch 11 13 8 11—433-point goals: Mars 2 (Francis, Dallatore); Knoch 1 (Logan).

Today: Mars at Pine-Richland

Wednesday: Knoch at Mohawk