By Journal Sports Staff

NEGAUNEE — Balanced scoring and much more production at the free-throw line spelled the difference in Marquette’s 35-32 girls basketball victory at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Tuesday night.

No Redette broke into double figures in scoring, though four players scored at least six points. Negaunee, meanwhile, had just three scorers, led by senior Chloe Norman with 19 points and sophomore Alyssa Hill with 11.

And while Marquette was a modest 10 of 20 at the free throw line, Negaunee was only able to attempt one charity toss, which Hill made.

Senior Aspen Michelin led MSHS scorers with nine points, with sophomore Maria Millado adding eight, senior Sofia van den Ende seven and senior Maddie Carter six.

“It was a hard-fought game by both teams,” Miners head coach Mike O’Donnell said.

And close throughout, too. Negaunee grabbed an 11-8 lead lead after one quarter with Norman hitting one of her three 3-pointers, extending its advantage to 19-14 by halftime.

But Marquette held the Miners to just four points in the third, taking a 25-23 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We scuffled a bit on the offensive end, especially in that third quarter,” O’Donnell said. “Marquette was a bit more aggressive in getting to the basket and in turn ended up out-shooting us by a wide margin on the free throw line.

“Our effort is there, but right now we’re still trying to find our identity on the offensive end. We have to get more scoring out of other people.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board and keep working on it.”

Hill, who made five of her seven shots, also led Negaunee with 11 rebounds and two assists.

Carter, who made Marquette’s only 3-pointer, led MSHS with eight rebounds and two blocked shots, while sharing team steal honors with two.

Michelin dished out five assists and pulled down three rebounds, while Millado had two steals and two caroms as she sank the only two shots from the field she attempted.

Negaunee, which won the JV game 38-35, plays at Hancock on Friday, while the Redettes don’t return to the court until Jan. 3 when they host Sault Ste. Marie.

Munising 48, Brimley 40

At Munising, Mustangs coach Matt Mattson was happy to take the win and even his team’s record at 2-2 despite it not a pretty game.

“It was ugly all night long,” he said, “but finally in the fourth quarter we started making some buckets.

“It was one of those game where we just had to grind it out.”

The Mustangs grabbed a 10-6 lead after one quarter, keeping the Bays at bay in the second quarter to take an 18-14 advantage at halftime.

Brimley got within 29-27 after three before Munising erupted for 19 points in the final quarter.

“Free throws kept us in the game in the first half,” Mattson said about making 8 of 9 at the line in the first 16 minutes.

The Matson sisters accounted for all of those free throws as they did for the whole game. Senior Megan Matson scored 27 points with seven free throws while sophomore sister Jenna Matson added 13 points, also with seven free throws.

Each team sank 17 baskets, every one a 2-pointer, as Munising made 14 of 26 free throws vs. 6 of 15 for Brimley, which was paced by Tommissa Archambeau with 20 points.

Brimley won the JV game. The Mustangs remain home to face North Central on Friday.

Carney-Nadeau 65, Superior Central 10

At Eben, the Cougars couldn’t get their offense untracked, scoring just four first-half points as C-N built leads of 25-1 and 41-4 after each of the first two quarters.

Senior Elizabeth Molag and junior Madisyn Tyner paced SC scorers with three points apiece, while Sandra Boulton led the Wolves with 16 points.

The Cougars are off until Jan. 7 when they play at Forest Park in Crystal Falls.

Manistique 46, Engadine 45

At Manistique, the host Emeralds (2-3) led 20-12 at halftime and had to hold off a late Engadine charge.

“They kind of took it up a notch in the second half with their aggressiveness,” Manistique coach Dave Winkel said. “We didn’t match that right away. It took us a minute to get back in there.”

Engadine took the lead for the first time as time wound down, but the Emeralds were able to pull out the win at the free throw line.

“They took a lead with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, but we were able to make some (shots) down the stretch,” Winkel said. “We put it away from the line and made some under the basket. We got into a situation where they had to foul to stop the clock. We were 7 for 10 in the fourth (quarter) from the line.”

Winkel was happy with how his team executed under pressure.

“We made a couple plays we needed to make down the stretch,” he said.

“The last time we were in this position, we lost a close one in overtime (Dec. 9 against Newberry). Tonight we were able to execute.”

Emma Swanson led the Emeralds with 11 points, while Emilee McDaniel added 10. Engadine was led by Sophia Vaughn with 16 points.

Manistique, which won the JV game, visits Westwood on Thursday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee with contributions from the Escanaba Daily Press. Email Brownlee at sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.