A star off the bench
PINE TWP — Karly Takach is more than just a sixth man.
She is a sixth starter.
The Mars junior forward came off the bench to score 11 points and provide a spark as the Planets overcame a sluggish start to run away from Pine-Richland for a 46-29, win Monday night.
"Just because of the girls we have, she's the first one off the bench," said Mars coach Dave Sylvester of Takach. "Coming into the playoffs, she's going to help us a lot. A 6-foot, 6-1 girl coming off the bench athletic like she is — it's a big boost for us."
Mars (13-2) had plenty of size to match up against Pine-Richland's 6-foot-6 center Sydney Wilson.
With Takach, Maggie Bullman and Lily Grenci all 5-10 or taller, the Planets swarmed on Wilson every time she got the ball in the post.
Wilson finished with just six points.
"We said we'll play behind her," Sylvester said. "If she could catch the ball, turn and shoot, hey, we'll live with that. We weren't going to front her and let them lob over to her."
The strategy worked. That and Mars turned the game into an up-tempo one that neutralized the big Pine-Richland star.
Instead, Takach, Bullman and Haley Geyer were the stars.
Bullman finished with a game-high 12 points and Geyer scored 11.
Geyer's deep 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer gave Mars a 20-18 lead and a shot of momentum going into the break.
Pine-Richland (7-9) scored the first basket of the second half to knot the score at 20, but didn't score again until the fourth quarter. By then, Mars led 30-20 and was in control of the game.
"We've been stressing defense," Sylvester said. "We've been working hard on the defensive end. All and all, I think we did a pretty good job defensively."
MARS 46Megan Gibson 0-3 3-4 3, Cara Hudac 0-0 0-0 0, Haley Geyer 4-10 0-0 11, Karly Takach 3-11 5-8 11, Lily Grenci 3-8 3-4 9, Maggie Bullman 4-10 4-8 12. Totals: 14-42 15-24 46
PINE-RICHLAND 29Katie Wise 2-5 2-4 6, Chelsea Young 1-6 1-5 3, Tori Pikur 0-6 0-0 0, Sydney Wilson 3-5 0-2 6, Emma Richert 0-5 0-0 0, Tricia Adamczyk 3-11 0-0 9, Emily Karr 2-5 0-1 5, Christin Bridge 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 11-43 3-12 29
Mars 8 12 10 16—46Pine-Richland 12 6 2 9—293-point goals: Mars (Geyer 3); Pine-Richland (Adamczyk 3, Karr)
Today: West Allegheny at Mars
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