LAKE LINDEN — It’s not common for high school basketball teams to play on the weekend unless they’re participating in a tournament, but the Ishpeming girls drove to the Copper Country on Saturday to take on Lake Linden-Hubbell and made it worth their while.

The Hematites used a dominant first half to break free and cruised to a 66-28 win. Madisyn Mead led Ishpeming with 22 points, while Emma Poirier had 10. Jamie Hendrickson led the Lakes with 12.

“Our press in the first half got us going,” Hematites head coach Ryan Reichel said. “The girls did a great job with coming in focused off the bus after a two-hour drive. The energy level was kept up throughout the game regardless of the score and I was happy with that.

“Lake Linden matches that energy and that helped keep us (stay) engaged the whole time.”

Ishpeming led 18-8 after one quarter and 35-14 at the half. Any doubt of the outcome was erased in the third quarter when a 16-7 advantage made it 51-21 entering the fourth.

The Hematites take to the road again this week, traveling to Escanaba on Thursday.