Negaunee’s Theresa Anderson, left, takes a jump shot while defended by Baraga’s Kinsei Jahfetson in the first quarter of their high school girls basketball game played at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Friday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

Up next: Both teams play Friday: Negaunee at Iron Mountain, 7:15 p.m. EST; Houghton at Baraga, 5:45 p.m.

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NEGAUNEE — The Negaunee High School Miners girls basketball team captured the title in the second edition of the Irontown Holiday Bash tournament by scoring a resounding 63-48 victory over Baraga on Friday afternoon.

Ella Mason had another big scoring games for the Miners (8-0) with 38 points. Immediately after the game, it was thought to be a girls school scoring record, breaking the 37 points she scored in a game last season, but NHS head coach Mike O’Donnell said he would check to verify that and wasn’t sure by Mining Journal press time.

Baraga (5-2), despite being in MHSAA Division 4, provided good opposition after reaching the state championship game last spring under the tutelage of coach Tyler Larson.

The game started out tight, with Negaunee lead just 19-18 after one quarter. The first quarter saw some firepower on display from both ends of the court, with Mason contributing 11 of the Miners 18 points. Not to be outdone, Baraga sophomore Kara Roberts accounted for nine points, all on a trio of 3-pointers.

Things took a turn in Negaunee’s direction in the second quarter, with the Miners turning their one-point first quarter lead into a six-point edge by halftime.

While the first half was tight, the Miners pulled away in the second half, though O’Donnell said he didn’t make too many tweaks in the locker room at intermission.

“We just talked about that we were getting lost a little bit on their motion offense,” O’Donnell said. “We just talked about some of our assignments and staying tighter with those shooters.

“Give them credit, they nailed shots in the first half and some of them were a few feet behind the line.”

The third quarter saw the Miners tighten up defensively while still maintaining pressure on the other end of the court, with Mason logging another eight points and extending the lead to 44-36 by the end of the third.

The final quarter found Negaunee firmly in control.

O’Donnell said that winning the tournament on its home court was special.

“This is our second year doing this tournament and we want to bring in different teams we don’t see a lot,” O’Donnell said. “I think it was a good success. We had a good crowd here both nights and its nice to be able to get two wins and to win your own tournament.”

The Miners have one game this week, a 7:15 p.m. EST Friday contest at Iron Mountain. On the same day, the Vikings host Houghton at 5:45 p.m.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Writer Randy Crouch. He can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 542 His email address is rcrouch@miningjournal.net.