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Ishpeming, Negaunee, Baraga girls all earn victories

GWINN — The Ishpeming girls varsity basketball team ended its four-game skid by picking up a big road victory at Gwinn at Tuesday night.

The Hematites (2-5) earned their second win of the season by a score of 54-44 which was backed by a 21-point night from senior guard Emma Poirier.

“This was a much needed win after we’ve struggled to close out some games this year,” Ishpeming head coach Ryan Reichel said. “Missing free throws and layups in close games have hurt us all season, but (tonight) we were able to make some key ones. Hopefully, this is something we can build off of.”

You could say free throws were certainly a factor, with the Hematites sinking 16 on 27 attempts going 59 percent from the charity stripe.

The Modeltowners were 5-1 going into the contest, and Reichel knew facing them on their home floor would pose a challenge.

“Gwinn is such a well-coached team and they have some talented players,” he said. “We knew we had a huge task (tonight). I’m glad the girls stepped up to the challenge and gained some confidence in their abilities.”

The Hematites led 10-3 after one quarter and 20-13 at the half. It was the third frame that allowed Ishpeming to gain a more comfortable advantage, outscoring the Modeltowners 17-11 to make it a 37-24 lead with eight minutes to play.

The Hematites held onto that lead throughout the final eight minutes to seal the victory.

Senior guard Emily Curtice paced Gwinn with a 14 point night followed by junior forward Eliina Miilu and freshman guard Lena Pleaugh with nine each.

Ishpeming hosts Iron Mountain (1-7) on Thursday while Gwinn visits Bark River-Harris (5-3).

Negaunee 62, West Iron County 39

At Negaunee, it was a battle between UPSSA’s No. 4 and No. 5 ranked teams in Divisions 1-3 and head coach Mike O’Donnell called it his team’s most complete game of the year as his No. 5-ranked Miners improved to 8-2 after their fifth consecutive victory.

“This was probably our most complete game all season,” O’Donnell said. “The girls really focused in on a game plan and executed on both ends of the floor. We’ve really made a big effort in the last few weeks to cut turnovers and shoot the ball better in the half court, and that was on display (tonight).”

Senior guard Chloe Norman led all scorers with 24 points, while sophomore forward Alyssa Hill pitched in 15.

“Chloe had the hot hand tonight and really got us out of the gate early from the perimeter,” O’Donnell said. “She really shot the ball well. Overall, I think our defensive effort translated into good offense for most of the night. The last few games, we’ve struggled a bit offensively, so it was nice to break out. Hopefully it’s a confidence booster as we move forward.”

Negaunee led by just three points after one quarter with a score of 15-12. The Miners held a 23-14 lead at half.

The third quarter was the biggest of the night for NHS, outscoring the Wykons (6-2) 20-8 to go up 43-22 going into the final grame. The Miners kept pace from there to cruise to victory.

Negaunee hosts Gwinn on Tuesday.

Baraga 78, Republic-Michigamme 18

At Baraga, the Hawks were unable to get anything going on the road in a Tuesday night defeat falling to 0-7 on the season at the hands of this week’s UPSSA No. 4-ranked girls team in Division 4.

R-M fell into a 24-9 hole after one and were down 53-13 at halftime. The Vikings (8-1) stayed on the gas for the remainder of the night, limiting the Hawks to just five points over the final two quarters.

Tailyn Raisanen paced the Hawks with three field goals for six points, while Anna Laakso had two for four points.

Republic-Michigamme visits L’Anse (8-2) on Thursday.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.

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