Head coach Mike O’Donnell started all four of his seniors — Kayleigh Manninen, Aleana Park, Liliana Saunders and Clare O’Donnell — as they joined regular starter Gretel Johnson to open the game.

“The first half of the game might have been the best half of basketball we’ve played all season,” Coach O’Donnell said in an email detailing the game. “On Senior Night, our four seniors started … and set the tone for the first six minutes or so.

“A few of those girls have never started (and) to step in that situation in a rivalry game in front of a big crowd was impressive. They handed their emotions and played well.

“We moved the ball well in the first half and made shots; things look a lot smoother when shots go in.”

Negaunee’s Sadie Rogers, right, takes a shot with teammate Paige O’Donnell watching the action during a high school girls basketball game played against Marquette at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Friday. (Photo courtesy Roundballin/Tony Pelletier)

Negaunee raced out to a 15-7 lead after one quarter, extending its advantage to 34-15 at halftime and 40-22 through three quarters.

Balanced scoring was the rule for both teams as just one player reached double figures — Clare O’Donnell with 12 points as she hit a pair of 3-pointers and was 4 of 4 on free throws. She also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Johnson, who made four assists, and teammate Paige O’Donnell added eight points apiece, the number of points leading Marquette scorer Avery Osborne also put in.

Seven Miners and nine Sentinels reached the scoring column.

Part of Negaunee’s advantage was at the free-throw line, where the Miners made 12 of 18 (67%) as MSHS struggled a bit to hit just 7 of 16 (44%).

Negaunee High School’s four seniors on its girls basketball team were honored on Senior Night before a home game played against Marquette at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium on Friday. From left are Clare O’Donnell, Aleana Park, Liliana Saunders and Kayleigh Manninen. (Photo courtesy Delaney Gladwell)

Westwood 58, W. Iron Cty. 52

On Tuesday at Westwood, the Patriots started fast but had to withstand a Wykons’ charge that nearly evened the score at halftime. Westwood pulled away again in the third quarter and held WIC at bay in the final period.

Lyn Magnuson led a balanced Pats’ scoring attack with 10 points as 10 of its players scored, Morgan Schneider adding nine points and Makayla Fisher and Addy Hallum each having eight.

The Wykons’ Bristol Shamion led all scorers with 19 points as teammate Eriana Sucholl put in 13.

Westwood jumped out to a 20-11 lead after one quarter before WIC closed the gap, getting within 29-27 at halftime. The Patriots jumped back into a 40-31 lead after three quarters, keeping the final score closer to that.

Newberry 42, St. Ignace 40

On Feb. 11 at St. Ignace, Newberry finished off the quite rare sweep of the Saints to clinch the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championship.

Along with a 48-42 home win over St. Ignace on Jan. 29, the Indians defeated the Saints for just the fourth and fifth times in the last 30 years, according to Newberry assistant coach Colleen Duflo.

Newberry won the second go-round with the Saints by overcoming a 21-14 halftime deficit. But the victory wasn’t secured until Indians junior Natalie Whalen came up with a steal, passing it to sophomore Gracie Johnson for the game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds left.

Johnson finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals, while teammate Sydney Duflo had seven points and eight rebounds and Whalen 10 rebounds to go with one point. The Indians’ Abby Taylor and Becca Rahilly also had five rebounds apiece.

Following wins since then over Engadine and Brimley, Newberry is a near-perfect 14-1, its only loss at Munising 40-37 in mid-January as the Indians have a makeup game at home vs. Cedarville at 5:45 p.m. today, and finish the regular season with three games next week at Stephenson, at Manistique and home vs. Alanson next Thursday.

Story contents based on emails received from Negaunee head coach Mike O’Donnell and Newberry head coach Sarah Johnson, along with a text message from Westwood head coach Christie Makela. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.