BUTLER TWP - There were 24 reasons why the Mars girls basketball team went home in defeat.

That was the number of times the Planets turned the ball over, and it proved too much to overcome in a 52-35 loss to Hopewell in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal playoff Friday night at Butler High School.

"We had some nice stands on defense, but that kind of effort is just negated when you commit a turnover in the backcourt," said Planets coach Dana Petruska.

Mars enjoyed a brief lead early in the game before Hopewell went ahead for good, though the Planets did manage several runs at the Vikings (19-4).

"We wanted to play an up-tempo game," said Hopewell coach Chris Raso. "We're a young team and we seem to be either in a lull or really on our game. As a coach, I just hope the good spurts outnumber the bad ones."

The Planets, who committed 10 turnovers in the second quarter alone, scored the last six points of the half and trailed 24-16 at the break.

Hopewell opened the second half with a 9-2 run before Mars closed the gap to 37-28 with one quarter to play.

But behind every ray of hope for the Planets lurked a turnover, waiting to give momentum back to the Vikings.

With just four minutes to play, the Vikings' lead ballooned to 47-32 as the Planets made only 3 of 12 attempts from the field in the final period.

"I wasn't so much disappointed about the missed shots as I was the turnovers, and that's something that we worked on in practice," said Petruska.

"We've been doing well at creating turnovers all season long," said Raso. "We only give up about 36 points per game and that's a big reason why."

The Vikings received 14 points from junior guard Kayla McLaughlin and 13 from sophomore guard Jordan Zuppe.

Planets senior forward Taryn Adamski, who entered the game with a 12-point average, was held to just four points.

"We played against (Adamski) in a fall league up at (Slippery Rock University), so it was nice for our girls to know what they were going to be up against," said Raso.

Sophomore Maggie Bulman led Mars with a career-high 12 points while Julie Utz posted nine.

"I've been waiting for this from (Bulman)," said Petruska. "She came out ready to play. This was her coming-out party."

Hopewell advances to play Moon in the WPIAL semifinals.

If the Vikings win that game, Mars (17-9) will play in the PIAA playoffs, which begin in March.

MARS 35

Taryn Adamski 2 0-0 4, Julie Utz 3 3-6 Maggie Bulman 6 0-0 12, Megan Gibson 1 0-0 2, Cara Hudac 3 0-0 6, Abby Marshall 0 2-2 2, Heather Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Alina Hudac 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 5-8 35.

HOPEWELL 52

Annie Posluszny 1 2-2 4, Jazmin Stewart 1 0-2 2, Kayla McLaughlin 4 6-9 14, Jordan Zuppe 5 1-2 13, Becky Novacek 3 2-2 8, Dana Radulovich 2 0-0 4, Joyce Novacek 3 1-6 7, Sarah Haluska 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 12-23 52.

3-point goals:

Zuppe 2.