PITTSBURGH - All Mars center Taryn Adamski could do was sit and watch.

As for the rest of her teammates, all they could do was watch North Catholic bounce back from a lackluster playoff game with a strong shooting performance in a 68-40 victory in the WPIAL Class AAA girls basketball championship game Saturday at Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center.

Adamski, whose season ended in Tuesday's semifinal victory over Blackhawk due to a torn ACL, was helpless as the Trojans used a 28-6 run in the first half to build an insurmountable 34-12 lead less than three minutes before halftime.

"North Catholic shot the ball extremely well," said Mars coach Dana Petruska. "We tried to defend it the best we could.

"We didn't press because our type of press wouldn't have been effective on that size of a court," she added.

The game was knotted at 6 - all six points for Mars coming from Ashley Bean - before the Trojans began to take control.

A Rachel Frederick free throw, followed by baskets by Jaclyn Sklarsky and another from Frederick gave the Trojans an 11-6 lead.

Jessica Pappas answered with a basket, but North Catholic scored the next seven points for an 18-8 lead with 53 seconds left in the quarter.

Alina Hudac closed out the quarter with a basket, but the Trojans opened the second by scoring 16 of the next 18 points - including three 3-pointers by Frederick and one by freshman April Austin - for the 22-point lead.

"We talked about how we played against Moon (a 38-34 Trojans win)," said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann. "We were looking to get off to a good start. We talked about putting on pressure and going out and getting a cushion.

"In the second quarter we were able to do that," Rottmann added.

It didn't help matters when Bean picked up her third foul of the game late in the first quarter and had to sit out for an extensive period of time.

"That's when they made their big runs," said Petruska. "They just started pounding the ball inside."

"They hit every shot," said Bean. "I give them credit."

A plus for the Planets was that many underclassmen saw prolonged playing time.

Freshmen Maggie Bulman and Cara Hudac started with Bulman replacing Adamski. Another freshman, Abby Marshall, came off the bench in the second half and scored seven points.

Sophomores Julie Utz (another starter) Alina Hudac and Heather Carpenter also played key roles in the championship final.

Bean led Mars with 13 points and Jessica Pappas added eight points.

The Trojans received 20 points from Frederick, 15 from Sara Prybyl (13 in the second half), 14 from Austin and 10 from Sklarsky.

"April had the flu and missed school Thursday and didn't practice Friday," said Rottmann. "She's such a gamer. Rachel had a great game and hit some big shots and Sara was big inside in the second half."

The WPIAL championship was the Trojans' second consecutive crown and third trip to the finals in as many seasons.

"They're always different," said Rottmann. "Last year, the expectations were there because we made the finals the year before.

"This year, we were ranked (No. 1) all season," she added.

Mars will return to action Saturday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs against Johnstown, which knocked Mars from the state playoffs two years ago.

With a section title and a trip to the WPIAL finals, Petruska knows this team is still capable of accomplishing more, which was evident in how the girls conducted themselves in Tuesday's semifinal win over perennial power Blackhawk.

"They play tenacious defense and last year that was our problem," said Petruska. "It's something we have to handle. We all need to be able to take our man. It's something we work in practice every day.

"The improvement this year over last year is by leaps and bounds."

"We have so far to go," said Bean. "We knew we still had at least a game left. We've made it this far and we want to go further in states."

MARS 40

Julie Utz 1 2-4 4, Cara Hudac 0 0-0 0, Jessica Pappas 4 0-0 8, Ashley Bean 5 3-4 13, Maggie Bulman 3 0-0 6, Abby Marshall 3 0-0 7, Megan Gibson 0 0-0 0, Leigh Ann Shankel 0 0-0 0, Alina Hudac 1 0-0 2, Heather Carpenter 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 5-8 40.

NORTH CATHOLIC 68

Rachel Frederick 7 3-3 20, Sarah Miller 2 0-0 4, April Austin 5 2-4 14, Jaclyn Sklarsky 4 0-0 10, Sara Prybyl 5 5-5 15, Allison Balestrino 0 0-0 0, Jeanine Vento 0 0-0 0, Alexandra Dumrauf 0 0-0 0, Jenna Herbert 1 0-0 2, Danielle Cicuto 1 1-2 3, Caelyn DiSanti 0 0-1 0, Michelle Capizzi 0 0-0 0, Colleen Kirby 0 0-0 0, Brittany Martrano 0 0-0 0, Alicia Rittle 0 0-0 0, Susan Joyce 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 11-15 68.

3-point goals:

Marshall; Frederick 3, Austin 2, Sklarsky 2

Saturday:

PIAA Playoffs-Mars vs. Johnstown at site and time to be determined