ADAMS TWP — A fast start isn't anything new for the Mars girls basketball team.

The Planets have eight wins through their first 10 games and either senior Ava Black or junior Alexa McDole have been the team's leading scorer in all but one of their outings this season.

This marks the third time since 2018 that Mars has started with an 8-2 record. Black, a four-year starter, was around for the first two instances, as well.

“With all of those teams, there were a group of girls where each one of us was able to score a different way each night,” Black said. “I think that's a big factor in our success, because the opposing team never knows who's going to have a big night.”

In Black and McDole, the team has a pair of shooters who create that sort of uncertainty.

“In order to have a strong outside game, you have to have a successful inside game,” Planets coach Dana Petruska said. “They complement each other and that's really helped with the overall team success that we've had.”

McDole, a shooting guard, played as a sixth man last season, coming off the bench when needed to take care of the basketball. Her role has changed this year and the Planets have benefitted.

“This year, I think the coaches have pushed me to step into more of a leadership role and into being more aggressive offensively,” McDole said. “They're encouraging me to take more shots.”

If she's not the one taking the shots, chances are, Black is.

“(Playing with Alexa) allows me to have an inside game and, when they double down on me, she's great at relocating for open shots,” Black said. “If Alexa gets hot and she's hitting shots, they'll stay out on her, which gives me a one-on-one inside. You never know who's going to be the one scoring on that play.”

Black, who typically plays center, is averaging 13 points per contest, including a season-high 26 in a December win over Fox Chapel. McDole has been good for almost 11. She poured in 20 or more twice last month, those performances coming against Allderdice and Knoch.

“With the amount of points they're scoring, it sort of takes the pressure of off everybody else,” Petruska said. “We've been pretty much clicking.”

With multifaceted talents, the duo serves as a perfect example as to why Petruska doesn't like to place labels on her players.

On the decorative posters stuck to the wall in Mars' gym, McDole's features a roadrunner. Appropriate, considering the energy she brings to the hardwood.

“She is just lightning fast,” Petruska said. “(She) can handle a ball. She's very athletic, she's got great hang time, good rebounder, good defender. She has all of those abilities.”

A Carnegie Mellon University commit, Black can surprise people by knocking down a few shots from behind the arc, too. She's level-headed, too, and isn't the type to let a slow start deter her.

“She can play inside, she can play outside,” Petruska said. “She can defend the other team's big. If she has to, she'll defend one of their guards.

“I tell (my team), on any given night, it's all about the matchups. If you want to be on the floor, this is what you have to be able to do.”

Last year's Planets started 4-6, but finished with a .500 record and a playoff appearance. By comparison, it could be considered a down year.

The team is in a better position with how it's done out of the gate this time around.

“I think that we do have a pretty evenly-matched section,” Black said. “There aren't really any games this year, especially in section play, that are going to be complete blowouts.”

As of Thursday, no team in WPIAL Class 5A has more wins so far than the Planets' eight. The team has already reeled off a pair of four-game win streaks.