ADAMS TWP — Just when North Catholic seemed to be taking control, the Mars girls basketball team took it back — and never relented.

The Planets used a 17-4 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters en route to a 39-34 Section 1-AAA victory over the Trojans Thursday.

Mars saw a 15-10 lead turn into a 22-17 deficit with 7:16 left in the third quarter, the capper coming on a 3-pointer by North Catholic's Callie White.

But a basket and a 3-pointer by Abby Marshall on consecutive possessions pulled the Planets even, and when Julie Utz added a pair of free throws with 4:28 left in the frame, Mars had recaptured the lead.

"I was a little fired up at halftime," said Mars coach Dave Sylvester. "I emphasized on the defensive end we let down in the last few minutes of the second half (North Catholic had outscored Mars 9-2 over the final 3:46).

"We switched from a diamond-and-1, to deny April (Austin) the ball, to straight man. We threw that in (Wednesday) and didn't think the girls were as confident.

"Once we got a bit of a lead, I think they thought they could play with them," Sylvester added.

"They played a diamond-and-1 defense and we were ready. We had some good looks, but we couldn't finish," said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann.

"When they went to the man-to-man defense, It should have been easier for us," she added.

After a 3-pointer by Colleen Kirby gave North Catholic (7-5, 4-1) a 25-24 lead, Lili Grenci buried a 3-pointer to give the Planets (9-4, 3-1) the lead for good.

Megan Gibson sank two free throws before a free throw by Austin made it 29-26 at the end of the third quarter.

To start the fourth quarter, Mars killed 1:13 off the clock before turning the ball over.

Maggie Bulman scored with 4:53 left and added a free throw and Utz another score to give Mars a 34-26 lead.

"We had people open in the paint," said Rottmann. "(Mars) had a ton of offensive rebounds. They wanted it."

North Catholic drained back-to-back 3-pointers by Lauren Savulchak and Ashley Bellovich in a 35-second span to pull the Trojans to 34-32 with 1:15 left.

The Planets, however, used solid passing and five free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Notes:

No player scored in double figures. Mars got eight points from Bulman and six points from four others. North Catholic got eight points from Austin and Amy Longo, who scored four of the Trojans' first five baskets — all in the first 11 minutes. … Mars missed six layups in the first three quarters.

NORTH CATHOLIC 34

Erica Cottle 1 0-0 2, Ashley Bellovich 1 0-0 3, Liz Siegfried 0 0-0 0, Amy Longo 4 0-0 8, Colleen Kirby 1 0-0 3, April Austin 3 2-3 8, Lauren Savulchak 3 0-1 7, Callie White 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 2-4 34.

MARS 39

Abby Marshall 2 1-2 6, Julie Utz 1 4-6 6, Megan Gibson 1 3-4 5, Cara Hudac 0 2-2 2, Haley Geyer 2 0-0 6, Lili Grenci 2 1-1 6, Maggie Bulman 3 2-4 8. Totals: 11 13-19 39.

3-point goals:

Bellovich, Kirby, Savulchak, White; Geyer 2, Marshall, Grenci

Monday:

Mars at Kittanning