ISHPEMING — It had to wait an extra day due to wintry weather, but the major bout between two Upper Peninsula top-five teams in Division 1-3 girls basketball took place on Wednesday night.

With just three losses between the two schools, the game between No. 4 Marquette and No. 2 Westwood was expected to be a good one.

The Patriots prevailed on their home floor 45-37.

Westwood improved to 16-1 on the season while Marquette dropped to 13-3.

The win was a milestone for head coach Kurt Corcoran, his first win against Marquette in seven seasons at the Westwood. It also comes as a good victory for his Patriots, not having faced a top-five opponent since their only loss to Negaunee on Jan. 18.

“I feel like we dominated the majority of the game,” Corcoran said. “They made a run at the end and we puckered up a little bit. That was our first real test.

“We were up 18 (points) at one point in the third quarter, but their strength, athleticism and their post play is just phenomenal. This was a big feather in our cap, for sure.”

After a first quarter where the Patriots took a slim 9-8 lead, Westwood opened a big bulge in the middle two quarters, outscoring Marquette 31-16 for a 27-17 halftime lead and 40-24 edge after three quarters.

The Redettes made their push in the fourth with a 13-5 advantage.

Madi Koski led Westwood with 15 points, while fellow junior guard Tessa Leece added 12.

Marquette finished with just four scorers, led by senior forward Sydney Kivi with 14.

Westwood hosts No. 3 Negaunee (13-2) on Friday while Marquette entertains Houghton (1-14) tonight.

———————

Negaunee 48, Iron Mountain 40

At Negaunee, the No. 3 Miners were forced to fend off thousand-point scorer Riley Poupore and a Mountaineers’ comeback.

Negaunee led 25-20 at halftime until being limited to a five-point third quarter that saw IM take a 31-30 advantage. The Miners offense came back to life in the fourth, outscoring Iron Mountain 18-9 to regain control.

Senior guard MacKenzie Karki led Negaunee with 13 points, while junior guard Chloe Norman had 12.

Poupore scored 20 for IM.

———————

Munising 61, North Dickinson 51

At Felch, senior Michaela Werner did all she could to hlep her U.P. Division 4 No. 3 Mustangs improve to 9-4.

That included 12 field goals and 10 free throws in her 34-point night as well as 13 of Munising’s 42 rebounds.

ND was up 22-19 after one quarter before the Mustangs charged back for a 31-28 lead at halftime.

The script flipped again in the third as the Nordics (7-8) retook a 46-39 lead heading into the final period.

But the Mustangs prevailed in a big way in the fourth.

Smith led the Nordics with 21.

Munising hosts Superior Central on Friday.

———————

Baraga 54, Jeffers 27

At Painesdale, the Vikings used balanced scoring to wear down the Jets as five Baraga players scored at least eight points, led by sophomores Allison Durant with 15 and Jaylyne Lindemann with 10.

“We started out slow and Jeffers applied some decent pressure defensively,” Vikings coach Tom Goodreau said.

Freshman Reide Osterman led Baraga rebounders with five.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Writers Ryan Spitza and Ryan Stieg and Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. Email them at sports@miningjournal.net.