Negaunee High School's Hailey Fezatt, right, looks for a teammate against the defense of Westwood High School's Madelyn Koski, right, on Friday night, Feb. 17, 2017 at Westwood High School. (Journal photo by Jess Makela)

By RAY BRESSETTE

Journal Sports Writer

ISHPEMING — The Negaunee girls basketball team needed all 32 minutes to hold off Westwood on Friday night with senior Hailey Fezatt becoming the last-second hero as her layup put the Miners over the top in a 43-41 final decision.

Negaunee spent most of the second half battling back from a deficit that reached 10 points in the second quarter. They worked into a 41-38 lead with 30 seconds left, forcing Westwood coach Kurt Corcoran to use his final timeout.

With the game on the line, Westwood’s freshman guard Tessa Leece nailed a triple from the top of the arc to tie the game 41-41 with 13 seconds left.

The Miners responded by sprinting the length of the court as senior Hailey Fezatt cut through the paint and threw up a diving layup to give Negaunee the lead for good.

Miners head coach Brandon Sager said his senior quarterbacked the play without the need of his assistance.

“I was wondering if I should call a timeout, but (Fezatt) looked like she was heading where we needed her to go,” Sager said. “We were laughing because she cut left in the paint, and she never does that, so for her to hit a left-handed layup was neat.

“It was great for her as a senior who’s been struggling the last few weeks to get a game-winning shot.”

After their tying basket, Corcoran said his team struggled in its transition back to defense as Fezatt made her way down the court.

“After Leece’s triple, our girls couldn’t hear me yelling to get back,” Corcoran said. “We were still in press mode, and the chaos caught up to them and we couldn’t get back on defense.”

Westwood had one final push at the end to tie or win the game when a Miner defender fouled Madelyn Koski.

There was a bit of a controversy when the nonshooting foul was judged to have happened after the final buzzer sounded, which clinched the victory for Negaunee.

The Miners’ Clara Johnson led all scorers with 17 points, while Westwood’s Elizabeth Farley scored 12 points and Leece tacked on 11.

The Miners are now 3-2 since their senior leader Aleda Johnson went out with a season-ending injury. She had been the leading scorer for the team the past two seasons.

They seemed to miss her early on Friday night. After defeating Westwood handily in their first meeting in January, the Patriots came out early with Koski nailing a layup in the final seconds of the first quarter to give Westwood a 10-6 lead.

Koski opened the second quarter nailing a long triple, and the Patriots offense continued their streak with a 9-2 run to gain a 19-8 lead.

But the Miners finished the half strongly, mixing starters with girls off the bench to change the tide.

Ally Jacobson grabbed three straight defensive rebounds in the closing minutes of the second quarter, topped off with a triple from Abby Nelson in the final seconds to cut Westwood’s lead to 19-16.

The Patriots scored six straight points midway through the third quarter to tame a hot Miners team, capitalizing on Negaunee turnovers to regain a 29-22 lead.

But Negaunee continued to fight, putting together its own 10-2 run to close the third, while a free throw from Jacobson tied the game 32-32 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.

Turnovers plagued both teams to start the fourth. Johnson then sank a layup and made the ensuing free throw for a three-point play, giving Negaunee its first lead since early in the first quarter.

With a week remaining in the regular season, Sager said his team is gaining confidence without Aleda Johnson.

“Our girls are at a point where they know Aleda’s not here and we’re no longer looking over our shoulders,” Sager said. “Now they’re looking to see who’s going to be the next one to make a play. They’ve come together and decided to become playmakers and help fill that void.”

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