L’Anse High School’s Kailyn Voskuhl attempts to move past her Westwood High School defender Lauren Farley, left, on Thursday night at Westwood High School. (Journal photo by Rachel Oakley)

ISHPEMING — Balanced scoring by the Westwood High School girls basketball team helped the Patriots take advantage of key injuries to L’Anse Thursday night.

The Patriots earned a 49-39 victory at the Westwood gym after the Purple Hornets were only left with six players, and for a time, just five.

Junior Lauren Farley scored 11 points, Madelyn Koski 10 and Elizabeth Farley nine for Westwood, which improved to 2-1.

“We’ve had balanced scoring all year and that’s a coach’s dream,” Westwood head coach Kurt Corcoran said. “Nobody would ever focus on Lauren Farley, and L’Anse had all their focus on her younger cousin, Elizabeth Farley.

“Lauren’s leadership showed all night and she’s become a senior leader for the team. She made sure everyone stuck together until the end.”

L’Anse was dealt a devastating blow just 40 seconds into the game when leading scorer Bailey Froberg was injured on her chin during a fall, reportedly leaving a gouge the size of a nickel bleeding below the chin and requiring a trip to the hospital for stitches.

An already-thin roster of seven players was left with just one on the bench after Froberg’s exit, and the L’Anse offense showed struggles for most of the of the first quarter.

Westwood opened with a 14-0 run, six points coming from Lauren Farley. The Hornets finally broke into the scoring column with three minutes left in the quarter when freshman Alana Jorgenson made a layup.

The Patriots carried a 17-5 lead into the second quarter before the Purple Hornets suffered another injury, this time to senior Alexis Francois that sidelined her temporarily.

L’Anse’s offense pulled out of its tailspin and actually outscored the Patriots 13-12 in the second quarter, but turnovers and missed free throws allowed Westwood to keep a 30-17 halftime lead.

L’Anse head coach Scott Lloyd said the Patriots’ attack wasn’t unexpected.

“We knew Westwood would be similar to us in size, quickness and aggressiveness,” Lloyd said. “The big difference was they were sharper with their ball handling than us.

“They got into their offense, running pick-and-roll screens and put single girls in the paint which got us in foul trouble early.

“We were able to settle in after the first quarter when we switched to man-to-man defense, but the damage had been done and we were in too big of a hole.”

The physicality on defense picked up for both teams in the third quarter, and both offenses were limited to eight points each.

Francois returned to the court and scored four points in the second half, while freshman Kailyn Voskuhl grabbed 14 rebounds, but the Patriots were able to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the second half.

Taylor Brown led the Purple Hornets with 13 points.

Corcoran said his team needs better consistency as their competition gets tougher.

“I thought we looked fantastic at times, and we came out like a team on a mission early on,” Corcoran said. “That faded as time went on, and we started lacking enthusiasm and energy in the finally three quarters no matter what we did.

“A young team like us needs to focus on putting games away and putting the nail in the coffin. We weren’t able to do that tonight, but it’s a great learning opportunity for us as we play the elites in the Upper Peninsula.”

Ray Bressette can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 243. His email address is rbressette@miningjournal.net.