Getting over a hump can be harder than it looks.

Just ask this year’s Park City High School girls’ basketball team.

After starting 0-3 and responding with a three-game winning streak of their own, the Miners looked poised to turn the corner and build on their sudden roll.

However, PCHS is again searching for ways to get back up again after suffering its fourth-straight loss.

The Miners fell at home Thursday night to the visiting 4A Payson Lions, who were previously 0-9 on the season. Park City lost 56-46 in large part to 32 turnovers, poor rebounding and a stagnant offense.

“We were just trying to force too much,” said head coach Sam White.

Park City was led by senior shooting guard Laurel Kasel, who finished with a game-high 22 points but struggled with her shot throughout, including a 2-for-10 start from the field. The Miners’ junior forward Bailey Tibbitts was a bright spot as the 5-foot-7 junior had 12 points and several steals on the defensive end.

After Kasel and Tibbitts were Christina Morgan (five points) and Carson Lyman (three points). White pinpointed the lack of offensive fluidity as an issue for this team that must be solved sooner rather than later.

“We need four players to be in double figures,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to win.”

The Payson Lions played an impressive third quarter and were able to consistently crash the offensive boards and get second-chance shots that doomed the Miners’ efforts to even things up.

White said his team has worked in practice to eliminate the opposing team’s main rebounder. However, Heather Finch of Payson made a living crashing the offensive glass throughout the evening.

In the third quarter, Payson switched its defense to 1-3-1 press style that left the Miners flustered and led to several sloppy turnovers.

“Turnovers were key, and they were mainly unforced,” White said. “That’s the frustrating part.”

He said his team practices the drills and knows how to beat a press, but said it just wasn’t there Thursday.

“They just kind of took us out of our rhythm,” he said. “We seemed kind of unsure of ourselves.”

Late in the fourth quarter, the Miners were down 44-37 and had multiple chances to pull the game within four or five points, but missed a 3-pointer and a couple layups after offensive rebounds and Payson was able to pull away.

“The last three games we’ve been somewhat close at the end and we’ve been practicing how to finish games,” White said.

While both Park City and Payson made 18 field goals on the night, the Lions visited the free-throw line 11 more times than the Miners and sank 16 free throws to Park City’s eight.

With region play creeping up on the 3-7 Miners, White knows his team must be able to get things headed in a positive direction before the games start to really count.

“We anticipate most of our region games being pretty close,” he said.

The Miners welcome the West Panthers on Jan. 12 before opening up Region 10 play on Jan. 14 against Union.

White knows his team has the ability to get over that dreaded hump, but sees one thing standing in the way.

“We need everyone to step up and start scoring,” he said.