NEGAUNEE — It wasn’t hard to tell this was a clash of the titans when Ishpeming visited Negaunee on Friday night at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee.

A pair of undefeated high school girls basketball teams held a “rumble” on the hardwood floor and the visiting Hematites emerged with a 57-53 victory.

Ishpeming remained undefeated at 6-0 while the Miners fell to 9-1.

The Hematites hadn’t had a game closer than 15 points before this, while Negaunee had blown away every Upper Peninsula opponent it had faced by at least 13, and even its game against another unbeaten, downstate Manton, had produced a seven-point win over the holidays.

“It was a very intense, up-and-down game tonight,” Miners head coach Mike O’Donnell said in an email detailing the result. “I thought two great teams fought for 32 minutes and we just came up a bit short, not for lack of effort.

“We had two dry spells, one to start the game and then again in the third quarter that forced us to play from behind. Our girls fought back both times, but we just couldn’t get over the hump any time we got close.

“I give Ishpeming credit. They play hard, fast and are so long and athletic it really makes things difficult.

“We’ll try to make some adjustments and give (it) another go at them in a few weeks.”

Ishpeming jumped out to a 17-11 lead after one quarter as the game’s top scorer, Hematites sophomore Mya Hemmer, put in eight points in the opening eight minutes.

Negaunee pulled closer at halftime, trailing just 29-26, before Ishpeming re-extended its margin to 43-36 to start the fourth quarter.

Hemmer finished with 22 points despite not scoring in the third period. Instead, senior teammate Jenna Maki, who finished with 17 points, put in eight of her points that quarter.

Senior Ella Mason paced the Miners with 16 points, making 5 of 6 free throws, while senior teammate Callie Rajala added 11, including a 3-pointer in each of the first three quarters. And junior Aubrey Johnson put in nine points, making a pair of triples herself.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.