By STEVEN OMAN

Marinette, Wis., Eagle-Herald

MENOMINEE — The Marquette Redettes were too much on offense for the Menominee girls to handle Friday, but the Maroons put up a good fight.

Marquette won 60-44, but Menominee was within 45-39 in the fourth quarter.

The Redettes started fast, especially Amber Huebner, who scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half.

“She makes us go,” Marquette coach Ben Smith said. “She gets her teammates involved, and when she’s poking it away and finishing plays at the other end, that makes everything better for us.”

Marquette held a 14-8 lead after the first quarter, and stretched it to 27-15 at the half.

The Redettes pressed Menominee, and while the Maroon guard handled it well, it still took a toll.

“You know every time you play Marquette they’re going to pressure you full court,” Menominee coach Lucas Chouinard said.

When Menominee did get settled, they took their time on offense.

“They wanted us to shoot quick shots, so we had to counter that by being patient offensively,” Chouinard said. “I was very proud of how they were patient. They waited to get shots in spots where they could be successful. (Marquette) had to play defense for a lot longer, which kept the game closer, which is what we wanted.”

Avrie Stewart went on a run in the third quarter, scoring 10 points to lead the Maroons comeback.

Stewart scored a game-high 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half.

Fortunately for Marquette, as Stewart was going off, Stasha Warchock hit three clutch 3-pointers to keep the Maroons at bay. She finished with 13 points and three 3s in the game.

“She squared up and shot in rhythm,” Smith said. “It’s always better to be able to shoot in rhythm.”

Marquette made seven 3s as a team in the game.

“We knew we’d have to come in and make some shots,” Smith said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well the last few games, but we shot the ball well tonight.”

Huebner led the Redettes with 20 points, and Chlaudia Hale scored 16.