Baraga coach Tyler Larson gives his daughter Jaycee Larson a big hug as she comes off the court in the last minute of the Vikings’ loss to Ishpeming on Friday in an MHSAA Division 4 district championship game played in Baraga. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette photo by Eddie O’Neill)

BARAGA — The Ishpeming High School girls basketball team joined an elite club on Friday night, becoming one of just a handful of teams that has beaten Baraga over the past few years.

Not only did the Hematites down the Vikings 63-31 but earned themselves the MHSAA Division 4 district championship in the process.

At 23-1, Ishpeming is not only the top-ranked team in Division 4 in the Upper Peninsula, but in the entire state as voted on by pollsters in weekly Associated Press rankings.

Baraga finished the regular season at No. 2 in the U.P. and in the top 10 in the state, following up a run to the state finals last season and state semifinals in 2022.

The Hematites showed on Friday why they have their lofty ranking in the eyes of their coach, Ryan Reichel.

“The saying goes that you want to be playing your best basketball in March, and we are peaking at the right time,” he said. “Tonight is one of the best team-played games we have had all season.”

The key to victory was a strong start that equated to a quick 10-point lead in the opening minutes of the game at 13-3.

“We came out, made our shots, and that set the tone,” Reichel said. “We were then able to build a gap and keep the pressure on them.”

A 21-7 lead by the Ishpeming 5 after one quarter turned into a 34-12 advantage by halftime.

“We just could not make our shots,” Baraga coach Tyler Larson said about his team’s dismal 20% performance from the field. “They were there, but in the end we were 12 of 61 shots from the floor. They were closer to 40%. There is your game.”

The Vikings broke into double-digit points in the third with 12 points, but the Hematites countered with 18. In the fourth, they outpaced the Vikings 11-7 to clinch a 32-point win.

Reichel liked the way his bench played.

“We have a deep bench, and they did well for us tonight,” he said.

In all, four Hematites scored in double figures. Mya Hemmer led the way with 16 points, while Jenessa Eagle had 13 and Peyton Kakkuri and Addison Morton each added 10.

Kinsei Jahfetson led Vikings’ scorers with just seven points.

Despite the loss and a third trip in as many years to the Final Four derailed, Larson was thankful for a tremendous season.

“We had a great year,” he said. “We were 19-5, won the (Copper Mountain) conference and were knocked out by the eventual state champs — in my opinion — for the third year in a row. That is good company to be in.”

Would Larson and his squad rather be the team advancing, though?

“Of course,” he said. “We will get there. We have a lot to hang our hat on. Our future is bright with a lot of talent coming up. These girls have continued to lay the foundation for our top-notch program, and I am so grateful for that.”

Ishpeming takes on Carney-Nadeau (18-6) in the D-4 regional semifinals in Kingsford at 7 p.m. EDT today. A win there would put the Hematites in the regional championship game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Marquette Senior High School against the winner of tonight’s other regional semi between Lake Linden-Hubbell (23-1) and Ewen-Trout Creek (19-5) that is being played in Houghton.