Lady Planets hold off Woodland Hills, 56-50
HAMPTON — Twists and turns took place at Hampton Tuesday night as the Mars girls basketball defeated Woodland Hills, 56-50, in the opening round of the WPIAL 5A playoffs.
Tia Johnson racked up 21 points for Mars, with 16 coming in the second half, where the Planets found themselves struggling to stay above water after they went up 20-7 at the end of the first quarter.
“We nodded off for two quarters,” Mars coach Dana Petruska said. “I think the way we started, when the kids look back at the film, the body language tells a lot. We just played with so much confidence in that first quarter, then we got out of our rhythm.”
After the first eight minutes, Woodland Hills coach Von Pitts admitted he should've started with man to man coverage throughout the game, instead of making that adjustment after the first period.
“We tried something different coming out in the 1-3-1,” Pitts said. “We hadn't run it all year and it's something we kept in our back pocket, especially when we see a team with the personnel like the Johnson sisters.”
The Wolverines came out with a balanced attack in the second behind Nya Morris, who finished the night with 16 points. Woodland Hills outscored the Planets 14-6 in the second to make it a five-point game at the half.
“Forcing a few things and then it just snowballed,” Petruska said. “I loved how they didn't have a complete meltdown. We were able to regroup, especially when they went ahead considering how big of a lead we had at the beginning of the game.
“But we kept saying they're not going away.”
Woodland Hills indeed didn't go away, netting 20 points in the third quarter and taking the lead behind back to back three's from Jasmyn Fisher and Morris. Woodland Hills had a 41-36 lead with under a minute to play in the third.
“When we started to make some shots, they started missing. It was like the pressure was put back on them,” Petruska said. “This was a big win for us, in that they can look back and say we've just got to put it together for four quarters.”
Bella Pelaia landed three key buckets in the fourth, along with Johnson going 6-for-6 from the free throw line, allowing Mars to regain the lead and never give it back, securing a six-point win.“(Johnson) is savvy,” Pitts said. “She's a veteran player. When she can switch from gear to gear without anyone knowing, it is very deceiving until you realize how quick she is.”Pelaia ended the night second on the team in scoring with 15 points, while Alek Johnson added eight points behind two treys and two free throws.Mars will move on to the second round and will square off with Oakland Catholic this Saturday.“We're going to take care of business,” Petruska said. “We take care of the ball, come out and play our game. We'll prepare and hope for the best.”WOODLAND HILLS 50Micah Dean 1 0-0 2, Nya Morris 6 3-4 16, Jasmyn Fisher 4 0-0 10, Peyton Pinkney 7 0-0 15, Jazmine Dunn 2 00-0 5, Ciara Turner 0 1-2 1, Ciara Becchom 0 1-2 1. Totals: 20 6-10 50.MARS 56Tai Johnson 6 8-8 21, Ellie Coffield 2 0-0 5, Bella Pelaia 7 1-2 16, Alek Johnson 2 2-2 8, Ava Black 3 0-0 6. Totals: 20 11-12 56.Woodland Hills 7 14 20 9 — 50Mars20 6 12 18 — 563-point goals: Morris, Fisher 2, Pinkney, Dunn; T.Johnson, Pelaia, A.Johnson 2Saturday: Mars vs. Oakland Catholic, site and time TBA
