ADAMS TWP — If only Dana Petruska could bottle up what she saw out of her team in Friday’s first half against Armstrong.

Mars’ girls basketball coach watched all five of her starters sink at least one field goal in the first eight minutes and for the half, the Planets shot 19 of 30 from the field, including 7 of 9 from beyond the arc.

The onslaught led to a 24-point lead at halftime and Mars never trailed in a 64-55 win over the visiting River Hawks, who would have moved ahead of the Planets for the Section 2-5A lead with a win.

“We shared the ball well tonight,” said Petruska, who attributed much of the effective ball movement to freshman point guard Vita Vargo. “We really didn’t have a point guard last year and she’s been the answer for us.

“This is what we’re capable of.”

The Planets took command of the game in the first quarter, forcing Armstrong into turnovers on its first three possessions and building a 13-2 lead six and a half minutes in.

Olivia Donnelly, Ava Black and Kaitlyn Pelaia combined for four blocks in the first quarter alone for Mars. For the game, they denied 10 shots.

When Alexa McDole drained a trey with 4:45 left in the first half, the lead had swelled to 30-12.

“We came out really aggressive,” said Mars senior forward Kaitlyn Pelaia, one of four Planets to reach double figures in points with 12. “We know Armstrong is a tough team and they’d be looking to come in here and beat us.”

The River Hawks (9-5, 4-2) fell at home to Mars, 48-38, last month. In that contest, the Planets led 22-9 after one quarter.

“This was like a carbon copy of the first time,” said Armstrong coach Jim Callipare. “I thought we played pretty well on defense tonight, but when Mars (13-2, 6-1) got open looks, they knocked ‘em down.”

Sophomore guard Emma Paul scored over half (28) of her team’s points. She tallied 16 of 38 points in the first meeting, which is her average per game this season.

“She’s done such a good job for us, but we need to get her some more (scoring) help.”

Mars led 62-39 after three quarters before its nine turnovers in the final eight minutes helped put the offense in a deep freeze, scoring just two points.

The deficit for the River Hawks, however, was too great. They didn’t cut Mars’ lead to less than 10 until Olivia Yancy’s basket just before the final buzzer.

“We came back a bit, but you can’t dig a hole like we did against a team as good as Mars,” said Callipare.

McDole paced Mars with 15 points, all in the first half. Vargo added 11 and Black 10.

“We’ve had the same starting five (McDole, Vargo, Black, Pelaia and Donnelly) the whole season,” Petruska said. “They’re getting used to each other’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. I feel we’re coming together as a team.”

ARMSTRONG 55

Emma Paul 9 7-8 28, Kyla Fitzgerald 3 1-4 7, Aubrey Burns 1 0-0 3, Olivia Yancy 3 3-4 10, Kali Allensworth 3 1-4 7, Sarah Williams 0 0-0 0, Ava Morelli 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 12-20 55.

MARS 64

Alexa McDole 7 0-0 15, Ava Day 2 0-0 4, Vita Vargo 4 0-0 11, Ava Black 4 1-1 10, Avery Bennett 0 1-2 1, Kylee Fredericks 1 0-0 3, Kaitlyn Pelaia 5 0-0 12, Olivia Donnelly 2 0-0 5, Lauren Atwell 1 1-2 3, Allie Rice 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 3-5 64.

Armstrong 8 14 17 16 — 55

Mars 18 28 16 2 — 64

3-point goals: Armstrong 5 (Paul 3, Burns, Yancy); Mars 9 (Vargo 3, Pelaia 2, Black, McDole, Fredericks, Donnelly).

Saturday: Mars at Moon