ADAMS TWP — Mars may have a lot of youth on its girls basketball roster, but the Planets have consistently progressed since the beginning of the season.

Their best effort to date just may have come Thursday night.

Facing a Hampton team that had not suffered defeat in section play, Mars forced 25 turnovers and outlasted the visiting Talbots, 48-46.

The victory ties both teams for first place in Section 1-AAA with 7-1 records.

The Planets (9-11 overall) dropped a 38-34 decision to the Talbots Jan. 12.

“We tell the girls that if they make mistakes, just erase it from your mind,” said Planets' coach Tony Howard. “We wanted to go fast tonight and this win is a testament to the girls' will.”

With four minutes left in Thursday's game, Hampton held a 38-34 lead.

But Mars managed a 14-8 run to close the contest, with its final seven points coming from the free throw line.

Teresa Dallatore hit two from the charity stripe with 53 seconds left and again with 34 seconds on the clock for a 45-42 lead.

Ali Goetz drained her pair of shots with 14 seconds, followed by 1-of-2 from Randi Francis.

Hampton had one last shot, but turned the ball over just past midcourt as time expired.

“We're a good (free-throw) shooting team, but every once in a while, we rush things,” said Howard. “Free throws are all about mental concentration and we had that tonight. We were focused.”

A key to Mars' victory was its ability to force Hampton turnovers.

The Talbots committed nine of them in the first period, six in the second and seven in the decisive final quarter.

The miscues often kept the ball out of the hands of Hampton's frontcourt players — Molly Luther and Sara Pilarski, who both stand over 6-foot-1.

“We tried to latch onto their guards as soon as we could and force them into mistakes,” said Howard. “With their size, that's pretty much the only way you can play them.”

“When they trapped us on the wing, we panicked,” said Hampton coach Mary Bukovac. “We had too many mistakes down the stretch, but it's tough to look at one thing.

“With all of the turnovers we had in the first half, you dig yourself into a hole and we spent a lot of energy coming back from that.”

Bukovac was referring to the second quarter, which saw Mars outscore Hampton 16-7. The period included seven points from Planets' freshman guard Sarah Getsy as Mars led 25-16 at the break.

The Talbots then scored 22 of the next 31 points to build their four-point edge in the fourth quarter.

Goetz led Mars with 13 points and Francis added 12.

Pilarski paced the Talbots (10-9 overall) with 16 points.

HAMPTON 46Molly Luther 5 2-5 12, Sara Pilarski 6 4-6 16, Jenny Stiger 4 3-3 12, Caitlin Jameson 2 0-0 6, Lauren Duffy 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Huber 0 0-0 0, Julie DiBucci 0 0-0 0, Courtney Collins 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17 9-14 46.

MARS 48Randi Francis 4 1-2 12, Brinsley Evanson 1 0-0 2, Teresa Dallatore 2 4-5 8, Alyssa Mathews 2 0-0 4, Sarah Getsy 3 2-2 9, Ali Goetz 4 5-8 13.

Totals: 16 12-17 48.

Hampton 9 7 12 18—46Mars 9 16 4 19—483-point goals: Hampton 3 (Jameson 2, Stiger); Mars 4 (Francis 3, Getsy).

Monday: Mars at Valley