ISHPEMING — Jenna Maki scored 20 points to lead Ishpeming to a 62-39 victory over Bark River-Harris to open the high school girls basketball season on Tuesday.

Despite falling behind 4-0 early, the Hematites used a 23-0 run over most of the rest of the first quarter to more than make up for it. Ishpeming pulled ahead 23-5 after one quarter and 39-21 at halftime.

“We started down four (points) right away, but the girls settled down,” IHS head coach Ryan Reichel said in an email. “I thought (Bailey) Zellar coming in during that stretch provided us a huge spark of energy. (It) allowed us to use our defense to create offense.”

The Hematites’ Addie Morton added 12 points, teammate Olivia Corp had 10 and Abby Koski scored nine points all on a trio of 3-pointers.

Aspen Fredrick paced the Broncos with 13 points, which included three triples, while teammate Cara Zawacki had 12 as she hit 5 of 6 free throws.

Ishpeming also won the JV game, 45-35.

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Negaunee 65, Manistique 25

At Negaunee, senior leader Alyssa Hill had an all-around game on the stat sheet, pumping in game highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.

Teammate Lilly Nelson added 12 points, all on a quartet of 3-pointers, while Madi Smith made five steals to go with four points.

“For a first game, I thought we did some good things on both ends of the floor,” NHS head coach Mike O’Donnell said in an email. “We had all the girls pitch in and contribute solids minutes, and for a first game, as a coach, it was great to get a look at everyone and see where they are at.”

With Nelson hitting three of her triples in the first quarter, Negaunee jumped out to a 22-8 lead after one period, extending it to 44-11 by halftime.

Brooke St. John paced the Emeralds with seven points as she made 3 of 4 free throws.

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Munising 63, Newberry 21

At Munising, Jenna Matson scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the first half as Munising rolled to an easy season-opening victory.

Teammate Emmy Crisp added 10 points to the winning cause, while Julia Prunick had eight.

Sophia Johnson paced Newberry with eight points.

“We wanted to set the tempo and put some pressure on,” Munising head coach Matt Mattson said. “We jumped out to a 23-5 lead after the first quarter, which is when we took the press off.

“It is a nice way to start our season.”

The Mustangs extended their lead to 47-11 by halftime, making it 67-17 at the end of the third quarter.

Munising also won the JV game 45-18.

The Mustangs host Alger County rival Superior Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

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Gladstone 60, Gwinn 42

At Gwinn, hot on the heels of signing her national letter of intent to play at Finlandia University next year, Claire van Ginhoven led Gladstone with a career-high 38 points to help defeat Gwinn 60-42 Tuesday night in the teams’ season opener at the Modeltowners’ gym.

“Our girls really turned it on tonight, and they did a lot of things I thought were things we were going to struggle with,” Gladstone coach Andy Cretens said.

Van Ginhoven also made all 17 of her free throw attempts, setting a school record.

The Braves will host Negaunee Friday night, while Gwinn is off until Monday when it entertains Bark River-Harris.

Information compiled by the Escanaba Daily Press and Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.