Baraga, MI – February 14, 2023 – The Ishpeming Hematites hit the road and headed to Baraga to take on the Vikings Tuesday night.
First Quarter: Jenna Maki of the Ishpeming Hematites won the opening tip to start off Tuesday nights matchup against the Baraga Vikings. The Baraga Vikings found the first points of the night a minute and a half into the first after a lot of back and forth action between the two teams. The defensive efforts of both teams were extremely strong as the score was tied at two halfway through the first quarter. The defense of the Baraga Vikings forced steal after steal setting the tone early in Tuesday nights game. The Hematites offense seemed to find the answer they needed for Baraga’s defense as the final minute of the first winded down. At the end of a hard fought first quarter a last minute three pointer put the Ishpeming Hematites ahead 11-10.
Ishpeming:11 Baraga:10
Second Quarter: The Hematites looked to continue their offensive efforts in the second while reducing the amount of turnovers they were allowing. Right off the rip both teams took the ball down court on each other putting up points and tying the game at thirteen in the first minute of play. The Vikings continued forcing an extremely fast pace of play in the second quarter but neither team was getting a lot to go in the early minutes. Halfway through the second quarter the Vikings led the Hematites 18-13. The Hematites were able to reel the Vikings in and overtake the lead with a minute and a half left in the second. The buzzer rang signaling the end of the first half and the Vikings came out on top 21-20 in a very fast paced hard fought first half.
Ishpeming:20 Baraga:21
Third Quarter: The Vikings started off the second half of play with possession of the ball but turned it over shortly after bringing it down court. Hemmer found the first points of the half giving the Hematites a one point lead over the Vikings. The pace of play seemed to slow in the early minutes of the third quarter as the Hematites brought their lead to three as they led 24-21. Lilly Swanson hit a huge three pointer that built onto the Hematites lead even more in the first few minutes of play. The Vikings responded to the run the Hematites were on and quickly brought the game back within one point. After the Vikings brought the game back within one the Hematites went on a 12-0 run that ended with a buzzer beater by Makenna Hendrickson.
Ishpeming:39 Baraga:28
Fourth Quarter: The Hematites were able to find the first points of the fourth quarter with a big three pointer made by Jenna Maki. What started as a neck and neck game started to seem like a blow out in the fourth quarter as the Hematites continued to score while shutting down the Vikings. As the final eight minutes of play hit the halfway mark the Hematites led the Vikings 44-31. Last week the Hematites gave up a big lead and allowed a comeback win so tonight they looked to avoid a repeat of that and began killing time off of the clock with two minutes to go. The Vikings were able to bring the lead of the Hematites down to eight with a minute and a half to go. Late in the fourth quarter the Hematites were able to bring their lead back to ten as they led 46-36. The Ishpeming Hematites were able to close out a hard fought win on the road against Baraga 46-36.
Final score – Ishpeming:46 Baraga:36
