ROSS TWP — Compounding turnovers put the Mars girls basketball team in an unenviable spot.

All hopes of finding a way to defend its PIAA Class 5A title will lie in the hands of the Planets' biggest postseason tormenter.

Oakland Catholic forced seventh-seeded Mars into 17 turnovers, handing the Planets a 67-45 defeat in the WPIAL quarterfinals Saturday at North Hills Middle School.

It marks the third straight season the Eagles (20-3) knocked Mars out of the WPIAL playoffs.

Since five WPIAL teams qualify for the PIAA playoffs, Mars can still reach states if Oakland Catholic wins the district title.

“We don't want this to be the end, so we will follow them,” said Planets' forward Bella Pelaia, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. “We will root for them so we can get dragged in.”

Ava Black opened the scoring and gave Mars its only lead, knocking down a layup with 6 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Oakland Catholic took the lead for good, 11-9, when Sierra DeAngelo made two free throws with .5 seconds left in the first quarter. DeAngelo had a monster game for the Eagles, finishing with 33 points and 14 rebounds.

From the field, DeAngelo shot 14-of-19.

“We knew we had to attack them and take it to the hoop,” Pelaia said. “If it wasn't there, we had to spread it around and open up space. We had to drive and dish.”

Mars coach Dana Petruska thought the Planets had moments where they appeared overwhelmed. Mars (19-5) shot 41.5 percent (17-of-41) from the field. Not being able to put up as many shots due to the turnovers hurt the Planets' offense.

“I start a freshman, two sophomores, a junior and a senior,” Petruska said. “If you watch their body language, their eyes were this big. Oakland Catholic plays hard and now I would say they are well-coached.”

Oakland Catholic would stretch the lead to 31-16 by halftime. Soon after the break, 3-pointers on consecutive possessions from Jayde Boyd, who finished with 16 points, and Alexis Sestric keyed an 8-0 run that put the Eagles up 39-18.

Tai Johnson led the Planets with 17 points and shot 2-of-6 from the 3-point line.

“The kids that are on the floor, if they deviate from what we worked on and talked about, it's like my hands are handcuffed,” Petruska said. “If I do take them off, it's a blow-out earlier.”

Now, Mars has to sit around and wait to see if its season will continue.

Petruska believes rest will do the Planets some good.

“We're going to take off until the next round,” Petruska said. “If they (Eagles) win their next game, we'll come back. I told my kids they need to go away. They need to put their feet up and don't look at basketball.”

Eagles' coach Brianne O'Rourke left before giving comment.

MARS 45

Ellie Coffield 1 0-0 2, Alek Johnson 2 0-0 6, Ava Black 2 2-2 6, Tai Johnson 5 5-8 17, Bella Pelaia 7 0-0 14, Kaitlyn Pelaia 0 0-0 0, Caroline Barent 0 0-0 0, Cassie Mueller 0 0-1 0. Totals: 17 7-11 45.

OAKLAND CATHOLIC 67

Jayde Boyd 7 1-2 16, Alexis Sestric 3 1-2 9, Claire Pilowski 1 0-0 2, Margaret Terry 1 0-0 3, Sierra DeAngelo 14 4-6 33, Anna Sproule 1 0-0 2, Jordyn Ingelido 0 0-0 0, Mia Vigliotti 0 0-0 0, Bella Fabian 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Morgan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 6-10 67.

Mars 9 7 18 11 — 45

Oakland Catholic11 20 22 14 — 67

3-point goals: Mars 4 (T. Johnson 2, A. Johnson 2); Oakland Catholic 5 (Sestric 2, Boyd, Terry, DeAngelo).