MANISTIQUE — The first quarter told the tale as Negaunee jumped out to a quick lead and didn’t let up in a 48-18 victory at Manistique in a MHSAA Division 3 girls basketball district semifinal Wednesday at Manistique.

“Negaunee got a 7-0 lead in the first few minutes,” Emeralds coach Dave Winkel said. “We called a timeout and we regrouped. After a slow start I think we turned it around in the first.”

The Miners led 23-11 at halftime.

“We had missed some wide-open easy ones in the first half, so it kind of felt like it should be an eight-point game instead of 12,” Winkel said. “For the rest of the first half, we competed fairly well. We got our defense going and we got some shots to fall.”

Negaunee (16-6) outscored the Emeralds 17-4 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

“They came out in the third and really cranked it up,” Winkel said. “It was steal, layup, steal, layup, and all of a sudden, a 12-point game is a 20-point game. That was really the deciding factor.”

Chloe Norman led the Miners with 15 points, and Alyssa Hill chipped in 12.

The Emeralds (7-14) were led by Kayla Muth with five points.

After the loss, Winkel remained positive about the season.

“It’s a tough way for it to end,” he said. “I’m hoping that doesn’t take away from a lot of the positives. With the seven wins, that’s a lot better than we’ve been able to put together in the past.

“I think the girls did a good job of working hard and improving this season. I think they learned a lot about winning at the varsity level. I think it’s a positive sign moving forward.

“I give a lot of credit to Negaunee. Their defense was incredible. They suffocated us all night long, but our girls didn’t give up. They played all the way through to the final buzzer, and I was happy with that. It just wasn’t our night tonight.”

Negaunee hosts Westwood at 7 p.m. Friday for the district championship.