HAMPTON - A British mathematician and psychologist whipped up a complex formula that proclaimed Jan. 24 as the most depressing day of the year.

It certainly was for the Mars girls basketball team.

The Planets didn't need a complicated equation to figure out why they came up on the short end of a 52-41 decision on the road against Hampton Monday night.

Poor shooting plus poor rebounding plus a heaping helping of turnovers equaled a section loss.

"This was a good reality game for us," said Mars coach Dana Petruska. "Like I told the girls after the game, 'You can either stick your head in a hole and wait for the season to be over, or come back.'"

Poor shooting and a slew of turnovers prevented Mars (14-5, 9-2) from getting into the proper rhythm.

After falling behind early 11-7, the Planets went on a 9-0 run to take a lead. But the advantage didn't last long as Hampton (13-6, 8-3) took a one-point advantage into halftime.

"The girls came to play," said Hampton coach Gary Wilson. "The win over Knoch (Jan. 20) really sparked us. We fed off that tonight."

Mars' poor shooting reared its ugly head over the second and third periods, when Hampton took control of the game.

The Planets missed 13 consecutive shots. Center Taryn Adamski missed 10 straight - all in the paint - and finished 4-of-17 from the floor for just nine points.

"If we can keep her to nine points, it tends to make things pretty difficult for them," Wilson said. "She's a hard kid to match up with."

Mars shot just 30 percent from the floor and was just 3-of-11 from 3-point range, which is usually a big weapon in the Planets' arsenal.

Petruska was most dismayed with the close-range shots her team missed and the inability to find the open girl against Hampton's defense.

Rebounding was also a bugaboo for the Planets as Hampton outboarded Mars by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

Maria Milfeit had no troubles scoring or rebounding for Hampton, however, pouring in 23 points and recording 12 rebounds.

As Hampton's lead grew, so did its aggressiveness on defense.

Mars committed 28 turnovers in the game, but some of the more perplexing were the unforced ones.

Petruska said it was a case of her team's youth showing up again.

"This is one of those games where our sophomores hid a little bit until the end," Petruska said.

Julie Utz led Mars with 11 points, but she was not immune to the shooting woes her team experienced. Utz was just 1-of-9 from the field in the fourth quarter as the Planets tried to climb back from a 10-point deficit.

Notes:

Hampton freshman Christin Graham had an interesting shooting night of her own. She scored only two points, but one of her shots stuck between the rim and the backboard and another went through. the bottom of the hoop. … The two teams combined for 53 turnovers. … Hampton won the junior varsity game on a buzzer beater.

MARS 41

Abby Marshall 2-2 0-0 4, Julie Utz 3-14 3-4 11, Megan Gibson 1-5 0-0 2, Cara Hudac 1-2 0-0 2, Alina Hudac 2-4 0-0 5, Maggie Bullman 2-6 4-4 8, Taryn Adamski 4-17 1-3 9, Haley Geyer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-50 8-11 41

HAMPTON 52

Reann Szelong 3-8 0-1 6, Cody Caraline 3-9 0-0 6, Emma Reed 1-4 1-2 3, Maria Milfeit 9-18 3-8 23, Ashley Florijan 4-10 2-4 10, Jenny Gangilla 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Cody 0-1 0-0 0, Christin Graham 1-5 2-2 4, Maura Turnley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-60 8-17 52

3-point goals:

Utz 2, A. Hudac

JV:

Hampton 35-33

Thursday:

North Catholic @ Mars