What a long, strange trip it's been.

The 2003-04 season might not have been the smoothest of rides for the Mars girls basketball team, but that's just one more reason it stands out in Dana Petruska's mind.

While the coach's 18th season with the team ended with two losses in the span of a week - to North Catholic in the WPIAL Class AAA finals and to Johnstown in the PIAA playoffs - neither Petruska nor her players could have asked for a more memorable journey.

"It really hasn't sunk in yet what we accomplished," Petruska said. "Since our season ended, I've begun to look at film of some of our games. There were a lot of great games. Great games to coach, great games to watch and great games to be a part of."

The Planets finished with a 23-5 record, but the season didn't start out as Petruska had planned, as November proved to be a month of change.

"Eight players quit this year," said Petruska. "I came to realize that they're just kids and their interests change. Those who left the team had to make a decision that they could be happy with, and I respect that."

Losing eight players is a legitimate excuse for having a sub-par year and missing the playoffs.

But not at Mars.

"It really didn't faze the team that much," said senior guard Leigh Ann Shankel of her departed teammates. "We knew that we could still have a successful season if we worked hard."

The Planets got off to an 8-2 start. Following its loss to Monte Vista (Calif.) in the Las Vegas Tournament just before Christmas, Mars reeled off 13 straight wins.

The Planets defeated Knoch, 52-46, in the regular season finale, earning the program the Section 1-AAA title.

"That was a big game for us," said senior Jessica Pappas. "No team under coach Petruska had won a section title before."

"I'll always remember the look on coach's face toward the end of the Knoch game," said senior Ashley Bean. "You could just see the excitement because she knew we were going to win the game and the section."

The three seniors did their part in holding the team together.

"This is a group that a coach hates to say goodbye to," said Petruska of the trio of Bean, Pappas and Shankel. "We had some girls quit, but these were the girls who toughed it out."

Bean led the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game and added 5.4 rebounds per contest.

"Ashley brought scoring ability to each game, but even when she wasn't scoring, it never affected her defensive play," said Petruska. "Some players let a scoring drought affect the rest of their game, but Ashley tortured teams on defense. We didn't give up many points, and Ashley was a big reason for that."

Pappas averaged 8.3 points, four rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

But possibly her biggest contribution on the court was from beyond the arc.

The 5-foot-8 guard was Mars' leading 3-point shooter, hitting on 39 percent of her attempts (25-of-64). It helped create opportunities inside for Bean and junior forward Taryn Adamski (10.5 ppg.).

"In a lot of situations this season, Jess was our unsung hero," said Petruska. "She suffered a left knee injury in our second scrimmage and it took her a while to get back into her game.

"She could've very easily said, 'That's it, I'm done,' but I admire her for staying with it to get back to where she needed to be."

Shankel saw limited playing time but also contributed off the court.

"She was like a fourth coach on the bench," said Petruska. "I can't say enough about the way she motivated her teammates. A big reason for our success was our team chemistry, and Leigh Ann helped keep that going."

"We ended up being a very young team this season," Shankel said. "It was up to us three seniors to lead the way."

Playing for the district title at the A.J. Palumbo Center will always be ingrained in the players' minds.

"It was a big moment for us, playing at Palumbo," said Pappas. "Not just for the players, but for the whole community."

As for next year, Adamski will return as the lone senior.

"I think she's ready to step into that role," Petruska said. "But she also knows that she'll have a nice supporting cast next season."

Leading that group will be Julie Utz, a sophomore point guard who averaged 8.3 points per game and led the Planets with 146 assists.

The first order of business for Adamski will be to recover from a torn ACL in her right knee, an injury suffered in the WPIAL semifinals.

"The doctors said I won't be able to play basketball for six months," Adamski said. "But, hopefully, if I put the extra work in, I will be back before that."

Also scheduled to return are sophomores Alina Hudac and Heather Carpenter.

Playing a part in the Planets' WPIAL championship game run this year were four freshmen: Maggie Bulman, Megan Gibson, Cara Hudac and Abby Marshall.

Hudac started all four of Mars' playoff games at guard, Gibson hit the winning free throw in the Planets' WPIAL semifinal win over Blackhawk and Bulman started in the WPIAL title game and PIAA contest for the injured Adamski.

"You know, I've had people come up to me and tell me that we should be really good next year," said Petruska.

"And yes, we should be competitive. But I'll wait until next year to see what we have. Eight girls quit this season, so you don't know what's going to happen between now and then."