Furious fourth-quarter rally lifts Mars girls past Kiski Area
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Thursday, December 15, 2022 | 9:34 PM
Mars’ Olivia Donnelly (left) celebrates with Vita Vargo after defeating Kiski on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Olivia Donnelly scores past Kiski’s Cora Coleman during the fourth quarter of their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Vita Vargo drives to the basket past Kiski’s Rikiya Garcia-Broaden during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Kiski’s Cora Coleman drives past Mars’ Vita Vargo during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Olivia Donnelly scores against Kiski’s Rikiya Garcia-Broaden during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Lauren Atwell and Olivia Donnelly block a shot by Kiski’s Rikiya Garcia-Broaden during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Lauren Atwell and Vita Vargo celebrate with teammates during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Kiski’s Lexiann Colaianni shoots a three-pointer against Mars during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Carmella McDole blocks a shot by Kiski Area’s Abigail Johns during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Kiski Area’s Abbie Johns drives between Mars defenders during their game Thursday.
Mars’ Lauren Atwell scores past Kiski’s Rikiya Garcia-Broaden during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Lauren Atwell (25) celebrates with Olivia Donnelly after scoring during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Kiski’s Rikiya Garcia-Broaden drives past Mars’ Lauren Atwell during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Vita Vargo eyes her second foul shot in the final seconds against Kiski Area during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
Mars’ Vita Vargo celebrates after scoring against Kiski during their game on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at Kiski Area High School.
With 5 minutes, 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s nonsection girls basketball game between Kiski Area and Mars, the Cavaliers led by nine and had designs on putting the game away.
But the Planets had other ideas.
Mars regrouped with a timeout and proceeded to outscore Kiski Area, 14-0, the rest of the way for a 44-39 victory.
“We just needed to wake up,” Mars coach Dana Petruska said. “I can’t say enough good things about Kiski and the team they have. They played with such aggressiveness and determination. I asked our girls if anyone was going to show up and play in the fourth quarter. I said some other things to kind of make them mad, and they came out determined to turn the game around.”
Kiski Area (2-4) committed four turnovers and missed five shots down the stretch.
“You have to give credit to Mars. They weren’t going to stop playing, and we knew that,” Kiski Area coach Dave Williamson said. “Mars is such a storied program, and their girls can play. No lead is safe in varsity basketball. We got stagnant and had a lot of unforced errors. We gift-wrapped that one at the end.
“It hurts to know that we played so hard all game and to see it all evaporate like it did. But we know our goals are still intact. The girls will learn from this and work to get better.”
Kiski Area kicks off Section 1-5A play Tuesday at Indiana.
Abbie Johns converted back-to-back layups early in the fourth quarter to give the Cavaliers a 39-30 lead. She finished with 10 points.
Senior guard Lexiann Colaianni hit five 3-pointers and had 19 points through three quarters, but she was held off the scoreboard in the fourth.
She had a strong look at a 3-point shot with 16 seconds left and her team down three at 42-39, but the ball rolled around the rim and out.
Junior Cora Coleman pulled down the rebound and was fouled, but she missed both free throws with 13 seconds on the clock.
Senior Olivia Donnelly, who led Mars (4-1) with 17 points, got the rebound of the second Coleman miss and was fouled. She put the game on ice with two free throws with 11 seconds left.
“We knew we just had to pull ourselves together and play our game,” Donnelly said. “We can shoot the ball and play inside. We just had to forget what had happened. We knew there was a lot of time left. We just had to be patient, play good defense and make good shots when we had them.
“This win means a lot because we are dealing with some injuries, and we’ve had to come closer as a team. It just comes down to having confidence in ourselves.”
Mars has played the past couple of games without senior shooting guard Alexa McDole because of injury. McDole averaged 15 points for the Planets last year as they went 17-6 and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.
“The girls still are working to overcome that,” Petruska said. “They are so close as teammates, and they’ve been pretty emotional.”
Sophomore guard Vita Vargo added 11 points for Mars. She had five in the fourth, including a key 3-pointer that started the run and pulled the Planets to within 39-33.
Vargo sank a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to extend Mars’ lead to three at 42-39.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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