Ishpeming’s Brittanie Piotrowski, right, steals the ball away from Bark River-Harris’ Skylar Brayak during their high school girls basketball game played at the Hematites gym in Ishpeming on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — There was just a little slippage this week for several area teams barely in the top-five rankings of the Upper Peninsula high school basketball polls conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

The major players who have been at or near the top remained in place, though, for this final poll of the boys’ season, since those teams are in MHSAA district tournaments this week.

Next week will be the final girls poll, when they get their shot at the MHSAA districts.

The Negaunee and L’Anse boys both fell from No. 5 in their respective polls to the dreaded “others receiving votes” list.

In Divisions 1-3, the Miners (11-10 to end the regular season) lost twice last week, 46-28 at Iron Mountain and 74-68 in overtime at home to Menominee.

Actually, though, NHS received two voting points for the second straight week, it was just that this time, Gladstone, the team it was tied with last week, got one more vote and took over the fifth spot alone.

L’Anse (15-6) had a similar week in Division 4, falling to North Dickinson 84-52 and Forest Park 86-61 and now joins Baraga on the “others” list, the Vikings also being there last week.

Baraga (15-6) ran its winning streak to six with victories at Chassell 66-31 and at Hancock 68-40.

On the girls side, Newberry (15-2) fell off the “others” list in Division 4 after splitting a pair of games, beating Brimley 63-24 and losing to Cedarville 37-31.

The other half-dozen area teams in the rankings held their positions this week.

In boys’ Divisions 1-3, Westwood (21-1) remained a unanimous No. 1 to end the regular season after a 54-49 win at Gladstone and 68-43 home victory over Houghton last week.

Marquette (15-7) held its No. 3 spot in D 1-3 after a trio of triumphs — 79-38 at Sault Ste. Marie, 82-66 at home vs. Forest Park and 65-60 at Kingsford.

Among the girls, Negaunee (19-1) continued as a unanimous top pick in Divisions 1-3 after getting two more victories last week, 59-31 at Jeffers and 67-49 at home vs. Houghton.

In Division 4, Ishpeming (17-2) was a not-quite-unanimous No. 1 again, getting four of the five first-place votes. The Hematites last week won twice at home, beating Munising 60-16 and Manistique 85-21.

L’Anse (15-3) held onto No. 3 despite losing its only game last week, 53-49 at home to Hancock, while Baraga (16-3) remained at No. 4 with a victory in its lone game, 51-32 at home vs. Wakefield-Marenisco.

Looking at the rest of the boys rankings, in Divisions 1-3, Menominee (18-4) stayed No. 2, Kingsford (14-6) at No. 4 and Gladstone (12-10) at No. 5, just not tied with Negaunee anymore. Additionally, Houghton (15-6) remained on the “others” list.

For Division 4 boys, No. 1 Forest Park (17-4) received three first-place votes and No. 2 Pickford (21-0) got two of the first-place tallies, unchanged from the previous week.

Dollar Bay (19-2) held onto No. 3 and North Dickinson (18-3) to No. 4, while Bessemer (14-6) came off the “others” bench to replace L’Anse at No. 5.

For the girls in D 1-3, Gladstone (17-3) remained a unanimous No. 2 behind Negaunee’s unanimous No. 1, Sault Ste. Marie (16-4) bumped up one position to No. 3 as Kingsford (14-4) slipped a spot to No. 4, and Menominee (14-6) stayed at No. 5. Houghton (14-6) is still in “others” territory.

In Division 4, No. 2 Ewen-Trout Creek (18-2) got the one first-place vote that eluded Ishpeming, with Norway (13-9) tied with Hancock (11-7) for fifth. Forest Park (13-7) held its “others” position, which Wakefield-Marenisco joined Newberry in falling out of.

In the final Associated Press state polls for boys basketball, Westwood got back the ground it lost last week in Division 3. The Patriots had been No. 3 in that poll two weeks ago, oddly falling to No. 6 last week without losing a game, then rising back to No. 3 this week.

And that current No. 3 position comes with a caveat — Westwood received one first-place vote as the five first-place votes were spread among the top four teams this week.

Beal City (20-2) is No. 1 with one top vote, Menominee is No. 2 with two first-place votes, and McBain (19-2) is No. 4 with the other first-place tally.

Things are also quite jumbled in the boys Division 4 rankings. Pickford is tied for No. 1 with Fowler (20-2) despite the Panthers getting no first-place votes and Fowler only getting one.

Instead, No. 3 Traverse City Christian (22-0) got three first-place votes but was a single voting point short of the leaders. Regular powerhouse Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (20-1) is No. 4 with the other first-place vote.

Also on that D-4 list is Forest Park at No. 7 and Dollar Bay and North Dickinson tied for No. 9.

In the girls rankings, which will have one more tabulation next week, Negaunee also recovered the spot it had two weeks ago, No. 9, after falling to No. 10 last week. The Miners trail unanimous No. 1 Grand Rapids South Christian (20-0) and are just behind No. 8 Otsego (16-1) and just ahead of No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central (18-3).

In Division 4, Ishpeming got back most of the ground it lost last week, bumping back up from No. 7 to No. 4 this week. The Hematites, who had been No. 3 two weeks ago, now trail No. 1 Morenci (19-1), No. 2 Concord (19-1) and No. 3 Gaylord St. Mary (19-1).

Oddly enough, No. 7 E-TC is still getting a first -place vote, while L’Anse and Baraga also are receiving some recognition, too, the Purple Hornets tied for 11th with four votes, just a vote shy of 10th place, and the Vikings getting two votes for 14th.

Story contents based on email received from the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.