Marquette’s Amber Huebner, center, squares up for a 3-point shot in a game against Escanaba on Monday at Marquette Senior High School. (Journal photo by Jess Makela)

MARQUETTE — Marquette’s Amber Huebner was too much to handle for Escanaba Monday night, scoring 17 points to lead her Redettes basketball team to a 50-29 win on their homecourt over the Eskymos.

Marquette head coach Ben Smith said his senior leader dictates how the game is going to go most nights.

“Huebner came through at clutch moments,” Smith said. “She always brings energy to the game, and everyone on our team feeds off what she does for us.”

Huebner helped put the game away in the fourth quarter, earning six trips to the free throw line to turn what was a five-point lead entering the frame into a win of more than 20 points.

Escanaba head coach Mike Beveridge said the physicality and speed of Huebner wore his team down.

“We got too tired and Marquette was too physical,” Beveridge said. “We kept Huebner in check for some of the game, but she’s a good player, and in the end she took control of the game. Our girls couldn’t sustain (her) for four quarters.”

Despite the play from their senior guard, the Redettes shot just 25 percent from the field on 16-of-63 shooting, missing their first eight shots to open the game when the Eskymos sprinted to a 5-0 lead.

By the time Escanaba called a timeout midway through the quarter, Marquette had put together its own run and took a 7-5 lead capped off by a Stasha Warchock triple.

The teams traded scores until Sara Iwanicki made a layup to give Marquette an 11-9 lead in the final seconds of the opening period.

Marquette continued to surge in the second, as Kellsey Grange and Huebner combined for 10 points in a three-minute stretch to extend the Redettes lead to 21-13.

Both defenses stepped up to start the second half before Escanaba’s Madeleine Willis scored six points on a late 8-0 Eskymo run to cut Marquette’s advantage to just 24-22.

Beveridge said he made an adjustment at halftime and called up a fresh defense to change their fortunes.

“We were trying a full-court press and they trapped off it,” Beveridge said. “It was something I had to do to get the girls to kick their game up a notch. We got some turnovers and put a little on them they weren’t expecting. It was something we haven’t ran in a game, so it gave us an advantage for a little while.”

But Escanaba’s run didn’t last as a basket by Warchock and foul on the play for a traditional three-point play put the Redettes back ahead 27-22 at the end of the third.

Marquette took advantage of holes in Escanaba’s defense in the fourth, turning four baskets into three-point plays off fouls and scoring 14 points in the first three minutes to take a commanding 41-25 lead.

“We did a little better in the second half getting to the paint,” Smith said. “We’d like to make shots on the offensive end, but if you’re competing defensively and holding (Escanaba) to single digits every quarter, you have a chance to win games even when your offense isn’t running smoothly.”

Smith was also pleased with his team containing Escanaba’s 6-foot-3 forward Jennifer Brandt and 5-foot-11 guard Madeleine Willis, as Brandt scored just two points while Willis led her team with eight.

Marquette improved to 11-1 with the win, and with little more than a month remaining before the postseason Smith said his team is fine-tuning its approach.

“We’re using every practice and game to help us prepare for that first Monday of (Class A) districts in Gaylord,” Smith said. “We have to be ready to compete and limit our slow starts. We’re finding ways to turn the tide in second halves, but we need to start bringing it for all four quarters.”

Ray Bressette can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251. His email address is rbressette@miningjournal.net.