ADAMS TWP — The Mars girls basketball team sent its seniors out in style.

The Planets pounced on Knoch from the opening tip Thursday — building a 29-0 lead in the game's first seven minutes — and coasted to a 65-31 Section 1-AAA win on Senior Night at Mars High School.

Mars seniors Teresa Dallatore and Alyssa Mathews were honored in a pregame ceremony before the Planets went to work.

“We have a pretty close, tight-knit group,” said Mars coach Tony Howard. “I just think they really went out tonight and wanted to play for each other, play hard and give it all they got.

“I think what you saw at the beginning was really a combination of everybody just buying into the seniors, the leadership and what they've meant to this team,” he added. “It was a perfect storm.”

Dallatore and Mathews enjoyed stellar performances in their final game in front of the home crowd. Dallatore tallied eight points, eight steals and six rebounds, while Mathews — who missed over a month before returning Jan. 28 — recorded six points, five boards, three steals and blocked a shot. Both dished out four assists.

“Teresa and Alyssa have been great teammates and intricate parts to the program all four years,” said Howard. “Last year, they were both big parts in winning a section title.

“This year, they've both led. Teresa has done a lot of leading on the court and because of her injury, Alyssa did a lot of leading off the court.”

Sara Getsy and Ali Goetz led Mars with 15 points apiece. Getsy dropped 13 in the first quarter alone, while Goetz finished with six rebounds, four steals and two assists. Jessica Bunner chipped in eight points and four assists.

Knoch snapped the opening 29-0 run on a pair of Sam Logan free throws with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

Logan — who finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals — and Molly Freehling concluded their high school careers Thursday night and were also recognized before the game.

“That was very nice,” said Knoch coach Sean O'Donnell. “I have a lot of respect for those coaches and those players. I wish them all the best in the playoffs.”

Allie Megahan, a freshman, led Knoch with eight points and junior Savanna Steffen pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

“We have a lot of young girls who we need to have the desire to get better at basketball. That's our goal,” said O'Donnell. “I think we've gotten better as the season has gone on, but I told them I'll never like the feeling of what happened tonight. So hopefully, they have the same attitude.”

As the Knights (5-16, 4-8) look to improve during the offseason, Mars (15-7, 10-2) will shift its sights to the postseason.

“Fifteen (wins) is a nice number,” said Howard. “(Friday) we're going to have a little bit of a fun practice and enjoy what we've accomplished in the regular season. We'll go back to work hard on Monday and Tuesday and find out who we play.

“We feel like we can compete with anybody,” he added. “With the experience from last year, if we just breathe and relax and play together and play hard and play fast like we did tonight, good things will happen.”

KNOCH 31

Sam Logan 2-7 2-2 6, Allie Megahan 4-6 0-0 8, Sarah Brasili 1-1 0-0 2, Angela Cress 0-5 3-6 3, Savanna Steffen 1-7 2-5 4, Maddie Canel 1-2 2-4 4, Maddy Bricker 1-1 0-0 2, Erica Hunter 0-3 0-0 0, Megan McCormick 0-2 0-0 0, Alyssa Logan 0-0 0-0 0, Abbie Thrower 0-0 2-2 2, Kelsey Wetzel 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Freehling 0-1 0-1 0. Totals: 10-35 11-20 31.

MARS 65

Sara Getsy 6-11 0-0 15, Ali Goetz 5-6 4-4 15, Alyssa Mathews 2-4 2-2 6, Teresa Dallatore 2-5 2-2 8, Jessica Bunner 3-6 2-7 8, Paige Castora 1-6 0-0 2, Daniella Paras 0-4 1-2 1, Gabby Kosobucki 1-4 0-0 2, Bonnie Workman 1-2 0-0 3, Elise Sheehy 0-1 0-0 0, Elyssa Paras 2-4 0-0 5, Bailey Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Lexie Mowery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-54 8-14 65.

Knoch 2 7 16 6—31

Mars29 8 17 11—65

3-point goals: Knoch 0-2 (Logan 0-1, Cress 0-1); Mars 8-14 (Getsy 3-7, Dallatore 2-3, Goetz 1-1, Workman 1-1, E. Paras 1-2).

JV: Mars 45, Knoch 22 (M: Kelly O'Connell 11, Amanda Sommers 9; K: Cloe Jackson 6).