That stat? For the entire game, her team was 0 of 22 from 3-point range, which nine times out of 10 would normally mean a team, especially at this level of the playoffs, lost and had to discuss the end of their season in the postgame press conference.

But improbably, the Hematites survived, outlasting Morenci 37-34 to advance to their second state championship game in three years at 10 a.m. Saturday back at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing.

“I thought one of us had to at least hit a 3,” Eagle said. “Wow. I’m actually very shocked by that. I don’t think that’s ever happened.”

The bizarre route to victory was par for the course this week for Ishpeming, which like the rest of the Upper Peninsula suffered through an epic late-winter snowstorm and dig out from three feet — or more — of snow before traveling downstate.

Ishpeming senior Mya Hemmer, left, looks for a teammate to pass to during an MHSAA Division 4 girls basketball state semifinal game played against Morenci on Thursday at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. (Photo courtesy Keith Dunlap) 

The Hematites then had their quarterfinal game against Indian River Inland Lakes moved from relatively nearby Gladstone to a long ways away in Gaylord, also changing the game date from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Then after winning the quarterfinal over the northern Lower Peninsula team, the Ishpeming high schoolers had less than 24 hours to travel from Gaylord to East Lansing and get ready for a Morenci team that entered with just one loss on the season.

In all this adversity, Ishpeming head coach Ryan Reichel said it was nothing compared to what cleanup crews have had to go through back home trying to recover from the storm.

“They get to play a sport,” Reichel said of his Hematites, who improved to 24-3. “They got to sit on a charter bus, got to get a nice hotel room. I mean we’ve got city (of Ishpeming) guys, they’ve been working around the clock trying to just get us here.”

And while the game it all led up to was a defensive struggle, it also had a thrilling finish. 

Ishpeming sophomore Camby Gauthier, center, guards Morenci guard Evelyn Joughin during their MHSAA Division 4 girls basketball state semifinal game played on Thursday at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. (Photo courtesy Keith Dunlap)

Trailing 34-33 in the fourth quarter with 3:19 remaining, Ishpeming senior Mya Hemmer hit a pair of free throws to put the Hematites up 35-34.

Both defenses held firm until a bold move was made by Ishpeming sophomore Camby Gauthier.

Getting the ball on the wing, Gauthier bravely drove to the basket instead of trying to pass the ball around, and hit a crucial layup with 30.3 seconds remaining to give Ishpeming a 37-34 lead.

Morenci (26-2) had one last chance to tie, but the size of Ishpeming’s lead meant the Bulldogs needed to try a shot that had become foreign to both teams, a triple. The team from near the Ohio border couldn’t get off a good shot attempt before Hemmer rebounded an airball and ran out the clock.

Eagle finished with 20 points, while Hemmer had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Ishpeming, which made up for the 0-for-22 performance from 3-point range and a 51-27 rebounding deficit by forcing 31 turnovers. 

Eagle was 0 of 9 from 3-point range, but made a living hitting pull-up jumpers from near the free-throw line.

“I thought (Eagle) did a nice job on the pull-up 18-footer,” Morenci head coach Ashley Joughin said. “She made that shot a couple of times with a hand in her face.”

The Bulldogs got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter before Ishpeming cut its deficit to 20-18 at halftime. Morenci also took a 27-25 lead into the fourth quarter. 

Ishpeming looked like it was going to seize control when it took a 33-30 lead with 3:50 remaining after a layup by Eagle, but Morenci responded with four straight points to take a 34-33 lead.

But the Hematites ultimately survived and will get a chance at another title, hopefully this time in front of a few more fans.

While there was a decent cheering section for Ishpeming, Reichel said before the game that a fan bus couldn’t cross the Mackinac Bridge during the day on Thursday due to falling ice, but hopefully more fans would be able to travel on Friday for today’s encounter against Portland St. Patrick, which defeated Onekama 49-26 in Thursday night’s second semifinal.

Keith Dunlap of Lake Orion also writes for the Michigan High School Athletic Association and several media and social media websites, and is a past sports writer for the Oakland Press. He has written stories for The Mining Journal the past three high school basketball postseasons, when the Westwood boys team reached the MHSAA Division 3 semifinals in 2025, the Ishpeming girls won the Division 4 title in 2024 and when the Munising boys won their Division 4 title in 2023.