WEXFORD — Mars had clawed its way back to within striking distance, but that momentum was quickly erased by one final spurt by Oakland Catholic.

Planet sophomore guard Tai Johnson made a 3-pointer that cut the Eagles’ lead to 48-39 with 3:47 remaining in the game.

Oakland Catholic answered with buckets from Jayde Boyd, Sierra DeAngelo and Alexis Sestric to push its lead to 15 points. Mars never threatened again in suffering a 54-41 defeat in a WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinal playoff Saturday at North Allegheny High School.

Runs by the Eagles had the Planets fighting an uphill battle virtually the entire game. The former opened the contest with a 14-2 run. Then, leading by eight points entering the second half, Oakland Catholic scored eight of the first 10 points in the third quarter.

“We saw it on film,” Mars coach Dana Petruska said of the Eagles’ ability to dominate for stretches of the game. “Our youth got exposed today.”

“We just wanted to execute the gameplan and we did that,” said Eagle coach Shannon Kearney. “We were lucky to get off to a fast start.”

The Eagles (21-3) left no doubt as to what their strategy was in the second half. All but two of the team’s 25 points were a product of getting the ball inside, whether it was a field goal in the paint or free throws.

DeAngelo, Oakland Catholic’s leading scorer this season with 13 points per game, was the leader of the Eagles’ inside attack, scoring a team-high 17 points, including 11 in the final two quarters.

“We get a lot of credit for playing good defense,” said Kearney, “but we also have a good offense. We don’t want to put the ball up right away. We stress making good passes and taking good shots.”

Mars was forced to attempt long-range shots in an attempt to make up ground. Though the Planets made six of them on the day, they were just 2-of-12 in the second half.

The Eagles also have a complement to their inside ability and it comes in the form of Sestric, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard. She sank four treys in the first half and finished the game with 14 points.

Sestric helped the Eagles build a 29-14 advantage with 3:22 remaining in the first half. Mars closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run and trailed 29-21 at the break.

While the Eagles sent nine different players into the game in the first half, Mars did so with just six.

“Some girls put the ball down when the (high school) season is over with and don’t pick it up again until November,” said Petruska. “Playing in the off-season gets you a lot more time on the court. We need to have more than just three girls with that kind of experience.”

Johnson led Mars with 18 points. Lauren Wasylson and Nicole McCloud both scored 10.

The Planets (17-7) must now hope that Oakland Catholic wins the district title. That would pull the Planets into the state playoffs.

MARS 41

Lauren Wasylson 3 1-1 10, Nicole McCloud 3 2-4 10, Tai Johnson 8 1-2 18, Bella Pelaia 0 1-2 1, Regan Kramm 1 0-0 2, Nichole Sommers 0 0-0 0, Daria Hockenberry 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 5-9 41.

OAKLAND CATHOLIC 54

Mia Cuccaro 0 1-2 1, Sierra DeAngelo 6 5-6 17, Julianna Skowron 0 2-2 2, Jayde Boyd 1 0-0 2, Alexis Sestric 5 0-0 14, Gabby Gevaudan 5 2-3 12, Haley Zoglmann 2 2-3 6, Abby Pechin 0 0-0 0, Anna Sproule 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 12-16 54.

Mars 8 13 9 11 — 41

Oakland Cath.20 9 16 9 — 54

3-point goals: Mars 6 (Wasylson 3, McCloud 2, Johnson); Oakland Catholic 4 (Sestric 4).