INPERSON
Top of Her Game
Mars High School girls basketball coach Dana Petruska seals her 500th career win .
BY NICOLE TAFE
Mars High School girls basketball coach Dana Petruska has been making magic happen on the courts for more than three decades . This season , she sealed her 500th career win — a feat few coaches attain . Petruska graduated from Deer Lakes in 1975 and attended the University of Pittsburgh on a basketball scholarship . She graduated with a degree in Health and Physical Education .
“ I played basketball , volleyball and softball in high school and in my senior year was offered scholarships to Pitt to play either volleyball or basketball ,” she recalls . “ I chose basketball because it was the harder sport for me , and I have always liked to challenge myself . It took a lot of commitment and hard work , and it taught me a lot of life lessons . I felt I could teach many of those lessons to the players I went on to coach .” This year , Petruska finished her 34th season at Mars High School . She began coaching during the 1986-1987 school year . “ I ’ ve had the opportunity to coach some amazing young ladies who have grown to be very successful women — this year ’ s team success was very rewarding ,” she says .
“ I ’ ve had numerous special memories over the years , but the one that sits at the top is when our team won the State Championship in 2018 . We definitely were the underdog , but our team believed in each other , and we beat Archbishop Wood , who had won five of the previous seven championships .”
Petruska reached her 500th career win on Feb . 8 as the Fightin ’ Planets beat Plum 57-47 . She is only the second active girls basketball coach in the WPIAL to reach that mark , a special and prestigious achievement . At the time of print , her career record is 500-305 .
“ To be honest , my 500th win was just another game for me — 500 is just a number ,” Petruska says . “ What concerned me most about that game was that I knew my team was aware of the situation and I was worried it would put more pressure on them in a game we desperately needed to win for playoff seeding purposes . I did shed a few tears after the game but that was because of my team ’ s reaction and the Plum team coming over to congratulate me when they announced the 500th win after the game . Such a classy gesture !”
Her plans are to continue down the same path she has for the past 30 + years for as long as she can motivate , teach and lead . n
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