SHALER TWP — The right game plan goes a long way in laying the foundation for an upset.

Mars girls basketball coach Zach Stitt had a surprising one in mind, then watched his players execute it with striking precision.

The No. 13 seed in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, the Planets had a stiff challenge Friday night at No. 4 Shaler, which had lost just twice all season.

“I expected Mars to come out in a zone defense, but they went man-to-man,” said Titans’ coach Tony Grenek. “They collapsed on the right players, and we just couldn’t make shots.”

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The result was a dominating 44-23 win that sends Mars to Wednesday’s quarterfinals against No. 12 Bethel Park, which pulled off its own upset of fifth-seed Franklin Regional.

Two starters for Shaler, Bayleigh Perez and Reese Smetanka, entered the game averaging a combined 32 points per game and were the focus of Stitt’s strategy.

“No disrespect to their other players, but we felt that if we could limit those two, we’d have a good shot tonight,” Stitt said.

Perez and Smetanka were held to just 15 Friday, thanks to the defensive efforts of Alexis Cashdollar, Gianna DeLisio and Carmella McDole.

Shaler (20-3) likes to play a fast-paced style, but found itself bogged down in a frustrating halfcourt game nearly the entire game.

“We want to make teams play at our pace, and we work on it all the time in practice,” Cashdollar said. “I knew we were the underdog tonight but felt we could come in here and win.”

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The Planets (14-9) led 13-9 with two minutes left in the first half. Cashdollar then went on a personal 8-0 run that included two steals by the junior wing to give Mars a 21-9 edge at the break.

Cashdollar finished the game with 11 points.

“We have several players who can excel on both ends of the floor, and she’s one of them,” Stitt said. “We went to a tournament in South Carolina in December. Her scoring picked up down there, and it sparked her. It carried over into the second half of the season.”

Trailing by double digits and desperately needing a boost, Shaler turned to its perimeter game in the third quarter. This, however, failed as well.

The Titans missed their first five attempts from beyond the arc in the second half. When Olivia Gieraltowski finally hit one with 3:35 left in the period, Mars still held a commanding lead at 28-14.

Meanwhile, Mars found a rhythm on the offensive end. McDole drained two 3-pointers, and Cecilia Christy and Mya Moore both added field goals to help the Planets lead 34-15 with one quarter to play.

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“We did a good job of running our offense,” Stitt said. “Making shots allowed us to get back and get set up defensively.”

Christy led Mars with 13 points and McDole added 11.

Smetanka scored eight points for Shaler.

It is the first playoff win for Stitt at Mars. His first season last year ended with a loss to South Fayette in the opening round.

MARS 44

Vita Vargo 1 0-0 2, Alexis Cashdollar 5 1-2 11, Cecilia Christy 5 3-5 13, Gianna DeLisio 0 0-0 0, Carmella McDole 4 0-0 11, Mya Moore 3 1-1 7, Grace Zatezalo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 5-8 44.

SHALER 23

Bayleigh Perez 3 1-4 7, Olivia Gieraltowski 1 0-0 3, Noelle Roth 1 0-0 3, Reese Smetanka 3 2-5 8, Jorja Bernesser 1 0-0 2, Allison Greygor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 3-9 23.

Mars 5 16 13 10 — 44

Shaler 7 2 6 8 — 23

3-point goals: Mars 3 (McDole 3); Shaler 2 (Gieraltowski, Roth)

Wednesday: Mars vs. Bethel Park, WPIAL 5A quarterfinal, site and time TBD