By Journal Sports Staff

BARAGA — L’Anse girls basketball coach Scott Lloyd worried that his players may have thought his team wasn’t playing Thursday night.

The Purple Hornets started out hot but lost their offensive touch before first quarter as Baraga coasted to a 66-44 victory in this matchup of top-five teams in Division 4 in the Upper Peninsula.

“We were up 10, I think 12-2, and we didn’t score again in the first quarter,” Lloyd said. “We traveled, threw the ball away and all kinds of things. It’s been our Achilles heel all year.”

The No. 4 Vikings worked to get a 15-12 lead by the end of the opening quarter, quickly padding the advantage to double digits before settling for a 30-19 halftime lead.

“(Baraga) just made better adjustments on offense,” Lloyd said. “They didn’t panic, where we just don’t have patience.

“We tried a little bit of a trap and press later on in the second quarter to get within 11, then we would foul or turn it over again.”

The Vikings extended their lead to 47-32 after three quarters before winning by 22.

Baraga senior Martina Jahfetson and sophomore teammate Rylie Koskinen shared game scoring honors with 19 points apiece, while Vikings freshman Reide Osterman added 15.

Brianna Keinz paced the No. 5 Purple Hornets (6-5) with 13, while teammate Josie Rice had 10.

L’Anse won the JV game, though no score was available.

The Hornets play at Houghton on Monday, the same night the Vikings host Chassell.

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