NEGAUNEE — Once visiting Calumet built a 19-point lead in the middle of the third quarter on Monday night, the result started to look inevitable for the Negaunee girls basketball team.

But with a monumental effort, the Miners battled all the way back to take the lead in the fourth quarter before falling short in a 51-50 setback at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee.

Down by one point with 10 seconds left, a floater by the Miners’ Lilly Nelson bounced off the rim and backboard before falling out.

Negaunee's Alyssa Hill, right, is trapped in the post as she is guarded by Calumet's Helen Beiring during their high school girls basketball game played at Lakeview Memorial Gym in Negaunee on Monday. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)

Calumet’s Marybeth Halonen then missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation with 6.2 seconds to go, but a scramble for the ball resulted in the Copper Kings getting the offensive rebound to close out the game.

Negaunee (4-3) had issues turning the ball over for the first 2 1/2 quarters as Calumet (3-0) took advantage with their run-and-gun style on the fast break.

“When we’re jumping to the ball and we’re getting in our right positions and our slides are all good, it’s tough to play against,” Calumet coach Matt Laho said. “Things look open and so girls pass it there, and it’s not open when it gets there. We just gotta stick with that and our girls have to continue to work to stay in position.”

Calumet’s pressure was the story of the first half, but Negaunee’s own defense in the third quarter is what seemed to flip the game on its head. Trailing 41-22, the Miners went on a 22-1 run over the next seven minutes to take a 43-42 lead with 5:30 remaining when Nelson’s 3-pointer found the bottom of the net.

The game’s final minutes were as back and forth as a game can be, but the single-point loss felt better than a wipeout would’ve for Negaunee coach Mike O’Donnell.

“It’s what needed to happen,” O’Donnell said. “Losing to Houghton and to Hancock, and the way it was going there, that’s not gonna be a very good taste in our mouths going into Christmas break.

“We challenged the girls at halftime, we didn’t come out of the gate very well in the third quarter, called a timeout, got after them again and said, ‘Hey, it’s not how we’re going to finish the game, just letting them walk away with it.'”

The Copper Kings jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead with transition buckets led by Halonen and Jana Loukus. Nelson got the Miners on the board with a trey, but Calumet answered the bell with two more baskets to make it 10-3.

Then Negaunee started to settle in, especially Ella Mason with four first-quarter points. It might’ve felt worse, but the Miners only trailed 15-9 after one period.

Negaunee started better in the second quarter, taking a 20-19 lead with 3-pointers from Nelson, Mason and Summer Dudo. However, Calumet’s fast break continued to factor into the second quarter when Negaunee’s transition defense began to break down.

The Copper Kings finished the half on an 11-0 run over the final five minutes with contributions from Isabel Loukus, Alexis Strom and Caitlyn Strom. The Miners stared a 30-20 halftime deficit in the face.

The beginning of the third quarter looked no better for Negaunee with turnovers creeping back in. Calumet boosted its lead to 19 points before the home team began to crawl back.

“We played really good defense, got a lot of steals, got a lot of turnovers and turned those into quick transition points,” Laho said. “Then we just got sloppy with the basketball, we were getting a little bit tired, then started throwing the ball away.

“They just started making some shots, and when they started making their shots, we weren’t getting good possessions on offense and just slowly let them eat back into it.”

Negaunee got contributions from a number of players down the stretch. Emily Gauthier had seven key points and Alyssa Hill started getting it going inside in the third to trim the deficit. The Miners still trailed 41-35 entering the fourth quarter, but had gathered all the momentum.

Mason went on a 5-0 run of her own to cut Negaunee’s deficit to just 41-40 with six minutes left. Nelson sat the entire third quarter after struggling, but the senior came back in for the fourth and scored six straight Miners points to make it 46-43 Negaunee. Then the teams started to trade buckets, and a floater from Jana Loukus gave Calumet the lead back, 49-48, with 1:45 remaining.

On the ensuing offensive trip, Hill drew a foul and made both free throws to put Negaunee ahead 50-49 with 1:15 to go. Alexis Strom and Mason each missed free throws for their respective teams in the final minutes, and Calumet took advantage on its next possession with a putback from Lizzie Torola in what would be the game’s final points with 30 seconds left.

Negaunee had a clean look on Nelson’s floater for a final lead, but it was no good.

Mason led all scorers with 17 points, with Nelson chipping in with 14 points and Hill adding 12. Gauthier added the other seven points with her run in the third quarter.

Halonen led Calumet with 14 points, while Alexis Strom had 12 and Jana Loukus seven.

“Our girls responded, we got up, we got some pressure on them, we just played with a more spirited effort,” O’Donnell said. “As a coach, I’m proud of that, but on the flip side, you’re a competitor and you got the lead with a minute left, you wanna find a way to finish that game.

“Overall, we don’t love moral victories, but we’ll take one right now and hopefully this can springboard us now into the next section of the season.”

The Miners won the JV game, 42-38.

Travis Nelson can be reached by email at tnelson@miningjournal.net.