Mars girls top Archbishop Carroll to reach 1st state title game in 41 years

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 24, 2018 | 7:24 PM

When the stars align, the Planets will shine. When it comes to big-time postseason games, every team needs its star players to show up and contribute in order to win. The Mars girls basketball has a handful of players who can change a game, and every one of them did.

Five Mars' players scored in double figures, including junior Tai Johnson's game-high 20-point performance, to help lead the Planets past Archbishop Carroll, 52-39, in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals Saturday afternoon at State College High School.

Mars (23-6) advances to its first PIAA title game since 1977. The Planets will face Archbishop Wood (22-7) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Hershey's Giant Center.

“It's just the way we drew it up,” Mars coach Dana Petruska said. “I think they were a little shocked and I don't think (Archbishop Carroll coach Renie Shields) thought that we knew enough about (them) because the Catholic schools up there don't share tapes.”

Ignorance must be bliss. Mars came out on fire. Senior Lauren Wasylson, a Xavier commit, hit a turnaround jumper to give the Planets a 2–0 lead. It was a lead the Planets never let go. Junior Tai Johnson connected on three straight jumpers to extend Mars' lead to 11-4 at the end of the first quarter.

“They played really well, Mars is a very good team and they shot the ball extremely well today,” Archbishop Carroll coach Renie Shields said. “Clearly, (Mars) was the better team today.”

Shields was correct. Archbishop Carroll (18-8) couldn't buy a shot. Shots either fell short or were too strong and hit hard off the rim. There was no in between Archbishop Carroll.

The second quarter was more Johnson. The 5-foot-7 guard connected on another jumper and sophomore Bella Pelaia added a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to extend Mars' lead to 16-4 midway through the second.

“We practiced hard because the game kept getting postponed,” said Johnson. “We were really excited to play on Tuesday originally, and we had to keep that excitement. We were ready to play from the start.”

Petruska said after her team's 61-53 win over Thomas Jefferson in the PIAA second round that she has yet to see her team play a complete game this season.

“You can't say enough about this group in that they're so carefree and laid back,” Petruska said.

Johnson kept things moving along while sister Alek Johnson, a freshman, nailed a deep pull-up jumper. The Planets marched into halftime carrying all the momentum and a 25-13 lead. Alek Johnson finished with 10 points.

“When I was talking to the team in the locker room, I was telling them to keep up the momentum,” Wasylson said. “They know we're not going away, and they're not going away. They're a great team, and we knew they were going to make a run.”

The problem for the Patriots is that run never came. Wasylson came out on fire in the second half and buried back-to-back 3-pointers and bring the score to 31-13 with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter. Wasylson finished with 13 points.

It was all Johnson and Johnson after that. Alek Johnson banged home back-to-back 3-pointers and Tai Johnson punctuated the third quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Planets a 42-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“I knew that I just had to stay controlled and poised throughout the whole game,” Tai Johnson said.

Archbishop Carroll's top shooter, senior Molly Masciantonio, finally got some open looks in the fourth quarter from behind the 3-point arc but it was too little, too late. Masciantonio led the Patriots with 16 points.

“This is like your dream team,” Petruska said. “It really is.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Mars