WEXFORD — Mars knew what to expect. The Planets didn’t know how to stop it.

Oakland Catholic's full-court pressure smothered the Planets early — resulting in 11 turnovers and a 16-0 Mars deficit in the first four-plus minutes — as the Eagles rolled to a 63-42 WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball playoff win Friday night at North Allegheny.

“That’s how they play and we knew we were gonna get that pressure,” Mars coach Dana Petruska said. “You have to be able to handle it, protect the ball, not panic. But they (Eagles) are so good at it. I’m sure their practices are very intense.”

The Eagles aren’t too bad at shooting the ball, either.

Oakland Catholic (21-3) drained 11 treys in winning for the 19th time in 20 games. The Eagles advance to play McKeesport in the semifinal round. Mars (16-7) will face Hampton (15-9) — a 55-44 loser to McKeesport — in a PIAA play-in game Monday at a site and time to be determined.

While the Eagles were building that early 16-0- lead, Mars got off only three field goal attempts while turning the ball over six times.

“We apply full-court pressure for 32 minutes,” Oakland Catholic coach Eddie Benton Jr. said. “We want to dictate the pace, force teams to play up-tempo and faster than they’re used to playing.

“That results in a lot of turnovers and that’s what happened tonight.”

The Planets had 24 turnovers on the night, 18 of them in the first half. Oakland Catholic extended its bench in the final two quarters.

Alexa Washington and Halena Hill sank a pair of treys each during the Eagles’ early outburst. The Eagles’ lead peaked at 53-18 with 1:57 left in the third quarter. They got the mercy clock running midway through that third period.

“We knocked down some shots tonight. That really helped us,” Benton said.

Washington led Oakland Catholic with 19 points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists. Rachel Haver contributed 13 points and six assists, Hill four assists and three steals.

“It’d be a lie for me to say we could match up with that team,” Petruska said. “They start four seniors and they got a transfer from Woodland Hills this year. They’re very athletic and very quick.”

Olivia Donnelly led the Planets with 19 points and five rebounds. Vita Vargo tallied 10 points, four rebounds and three steals while Lauren Atwell had four assists and four rebounds.

Mars outscored the Eagles 16-9 in the fourth quarter.

“Our girls didn't quit and I’m very proud of my team for that,” Petruska said. “Some girls may pout about not getting in the game, but you have to earn time on the floor. That means putting in extra time working on your game on your own.

“Olivia Donnelly is a prime example of that. She’s worked at her game and can play any position on the floor.”

MARS 42

Ava Day 0-0 1-2 1, Vita Vargo 3-10 2-2 10, Alexis Cashdollar 2-3 0-0 4, Lauren Atwell 0-4 6-8 6, Olivia Donnelly 5-7 7-9 19, Cecelia Christy 1-4 0-0 2, Carmella McDole 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-28 16-21 42.

OAKLAND CATHOLIC 63

Rachel Haver 4-6 3-4 13, London Creach 3-7 0-0 6, Alexa Washington 6-11 2-2 19, Halena Hill 2-10 0-0 6, Jill Gallo 1-3 2-2 4, Marionna Logan 1-2 0-0 2, Zephaniah Troxler-Scott 1-1 0-0 2,. Raygen Hintermeyer 1-1 1-2 4, Maura Schorr 1-1 0-0 3, Amelia Perri 0-1 0-0 0, Josephine Fontana 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 22-45 8-10 63.

Mars 4 9 13 16 — 42

Oakland Catholic 25 11 18 9 — 63

3-point goals: Mars 4 (Vargo 2, Donnelly 2), Oakland Catholic 11 (Haver 2, Washington 5, Hill 2, Hintermeyer, Schorr)

Monday: PIAA play-in-Mars vs. McKeesport Hanpton, site and time TBA