ADAMS TWP — Ali Goetz tries to turn her brain off.

That's easier said than done for the junior forward on the Mars girls basketball team.

“There's a lot on my mind before the game,” Goetz said. “I just try to play it out on the court.”

When Goetz is able to block out all of her thoughts and let things come naturally to her, good things usually happen.

They did late against North Hills. Goetz scored 13 of her game-high 17 points after the half as Mars downed the Indians 54-47 in overtime in a non-section clash Wednesday night.

Goetz was 9-of-10 from the free throw line, including 5-of-6 in overtime.

“She was having struggles between being too unselfish and taking her shot,” said Mars coach Tony Howard. “That's a hard line to walk. It's still a learning process.”

Goetz was right at home on the foul line, where she salted the game away.

“We like to have her on the line,” Howard said. “We feel confident with her there.”

Goetz got the Planets to overtime with a put-back off her own miss to tie the score at 46-46 with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

“It's uplifting,” Goetz said. “It makes me want to push more. I was more composed and relaxed in the second half. It was a lot better for me because I wasn't thinking as much. When I do that, it's better for me and my team.”

Mars (11-5) and North Hills (7-10) went toe-to-toe for four quarters with neither team leading by more than five points.

Sara Getsy scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half for the Planets as the teams headed to halftime deadlocked at 26-26.

All eight of the points Mars scored in overtime came at the free throw line as the Planets were 8-of-10 from the stripe in the extra frame.

Mars has won six in a row. North Hills has dropped five straight.

“They're growing more and more,” Howard said. “They dug deep.”

Boys

North Hills 81, Mars 64

The Planets are suddenly the walking wounded.

John Castello, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, didn't play with an injured shoulder. Mars also has been without 6-3 forward Alex Gruber for all but one quarter this season with an ankle injury and guard Brent Ashbaugh with a hip ailment.

But it was the scintillating shooting by North Hills, particularly in the second half, that sunk the Planets in an 81-64 non-section loss.

Mars trailed by just three midway through the third quarter, but the Indians went on a 20-2 run to take control of the game.

“We were in the game,” said Mars coach Rob Carmody. “We had chances.”

But so did North Hills (9-8) and the Indians took advantage of nearly every one of the them.

North Hills shot 61 percent from the floor and 53 percent from 3-point range in the win.

The Indians had five players in double digits led by Shawndale Jones and Ryan Burek with 18 each.

Owen Nearhoof scored 29 points — 25 coming in the second half — to lead Mars.

Castello's absence was a precaution, Carmody said.

“It's a non-section game and we need him for section games,” Carmody said.

Ethan Lewis added 15 points for Mars, which jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and had a chance to add to it before a turnover ended a layup opportunity.

North Hills then rallied to tie the game at 16-16 at the end of the first quarter, took a lead 40 seconds into the second quarter and never gave it up.

Carmody said Ashbaugh will be back next week and he hopes Gruber will be back on the floor soon as well.

Mars (9-6) is still in good position to secure a playoff spot with a 6-1 section record.

“We're in a situation where we're 6-1 ... and we've almost sewn up a playoff spot,” Carmody said. “It is a huge credit to the kids. I'm super, super proud of them and I hope they keep pushing forward and realize they have a great opportunity.”

Girls

NORTH HILLS 47

Megan Taschner 1-3 2-2 4, Sarah Treser 5-15 1-2 12, Tori Manfred 0-3 0-0 0, Jamie Halloran 5-7 1-1 11, Breanna Bertram 2-7 1-4 5, Sarah Glatz 1-3 0-1 2, Anna Treser 0-1 1-2 1, Scout Cheeks 4-12 0-0 8, Brandi Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Sierra Ungerman 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 19-54 8-14 47.

MARS 54

Sara Getsy 6-9 1-3 14, Nicole McCloud 2-6 3-6 7, Jess Bunner 1-8 3-6 5, Ali Goetz 4-11 9-10 17, Ellyssa Paras 0-0 0-0 0, Gabby Kosobucki 0-0 0-0 0, Bonnie Workman 2-4 4-6 8, Elise Sheehy 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 16-42 20-33 54.

North Hills 14 12 12 8 1 — 47

Mars12 14 8 12 8 — 54

3-point goals: North Hills 1 (S. Treser); Mars 2 (Getsy, Workman)

Today: Mars at Freeport

Boys

NORTH HILLS 81

Dylan Mitchell 6-8 0-3 12, Taylor 4-8 1-2 11, Ryan Burek 6-13 2-2 18, Shawndale Jones 9-15 0-0 18, C.J. Paulauskas 4-4 2-2 11, Nick Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Vojtko 3-4 0-0 8, Danny White 1-4 1-4 3, Nick Colaizzi 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Shawndale 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 33-57 6-13 81.

MARS 64

Austin Fetsko 1-3 2-2 4, Nick DeCamp 1-5 0-0 3, Owen Nearhoof 10-21 4-6 29, Christian Schmitt 1-2 0-0 3, Brett Kloc 1-1 0-0 2, Nate Sablowski 1-2 2-2 4, Mitchell Verplank 2-3 0-2 4, Aaron Gruber 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Bayuk 0-0 0-0 0, Bailey Trzeciak 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Tresky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-46 11-17 64.

North Hills 16 17 23 25 — 81

Mars16 13 18 17 — 64

3-point goals: North Hills 9 (Taylor 2, Burek 4, Vojtko 2, Paulauskus); Mars 7 (Nearhoof 5, DeCamp, Schmitt)

Friday: Mars at Freeport