Negaunee’s Chloe Norman, right, takes a jump shot as Calumet’s Niina Anderson defends during a Class C regional tournament game played Tuesday night at Marquette Senior High School. (Journal photo by Rachel Oakley)

“It’s sad to see it end like this.” — Brandon Sager, head coach, Negaunee girls basketball

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MARQUETTE — Negaunee’s hopes of a regional championship were dashed Tuesday night after Calumet came to Marquette County and defeated the Miners 60-49 in the Class C semifinals at Marquette Senior High School.

Calumet head coach Jeff Twardzik knew the key matchup was going to be between the team’s key guards.

“Coming in, we were hanging our hats on defense,” Twardzik said. “We wanted to produce on that side of the ball, and (the Copper Kings’) Amber Johnson was great on Clara Johnson.

“She really rode her all night long and did a great job.”

Clara Johnson, who has become Negaunee’s leading scorer since her older sister Aleda went down with an injury about a month ago, was limited to 12 points.

Calumet 6-foot-2 center Hailey Wickstrom wreaked havoc on the Miners in the paint all night long. The senior also led all scorers with 19 points.

Negaunee head coach Brandon Sager acknowledged Wickstrom was a determining factor Tuesday.

“Wickstrom blocked a few shots and we got a little scared,” Sager said. “We tried to pull her out (on offense) a lot, but their defense affected us a lot with pressure.

“Even when we did get by, Wickstrom shut us down.”

The Miners fell in a hole early and found themselves trying to battle their way back into the game the remainder of the night.

Calumet jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the game’s first 55 seconds, and while the Miners responded with a quick run to take a 6-5 lead, it would be the last time they’d be ahead this season. The Copper Kings re-established a 20-9 lead after one quarter.

Negaunee cut into the deficit in the second quarter, but still trailed 32-25 at the break as Sager searched for bench players who could provide more energy on the floor.

While Hailey Fezatt and Clara Johnson scored two quick buckets to start the third quarter, the period ended with Negaunee scoring just six points.

“In the second quarter, we were stagnant and sitting around,” Sager said. “We talked at halftime about moving. We came out and did that, but just couldn’t get the shots to fall.”

The Miners trailed by 14 points, 45-31, heading to the fourth quarter, and with their season on the line they put together a run to make it a single-digit contest.

After free throws from Fezatt and Ally Jacobson, Twardzik was assessed a technical foul for his choice of words on a foul call, giving the Miners a golden opportunity to pull within six points.

But the Miners missed on all three shots, including the front end of a one-and-one. And the Miners never got closer than eight points down the stretch to place Calumet in the 7 p.m. Thursday regional championship against St. Ignace.

Tuesday was the last game for four Negaunee seniors, who helped the team win their previous seven games heading into the regionals.

But Sager said the loss won’t be the defining memory of this season.

“For the younger girls, they have some pretty big shoes to fill,” Sager said. “This senior class has set the bar as high as it’s been since I got here. I can’t say enough about them and everything they’ve done for me. I hope that I’ve impacted their lives as much as they’ve impacted mine.

“It’s sad to see it end like this. Our seniors have won conference and district titles, and we wanted to get them to the next step. But we ran into a good team and couldn’t advance.”

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