Ishpeming, Michigan – January 30, 2017 – The Ishpeming Hematites girls basketball team faced a tough test when they hosted the Iron Mountain Mountaineers in Ishpeming on Monday night. The Hematites used a strong second half performance to pull out the victory.
The game went back and forth to start. The scoring got started with Iron Mountain’s Emma Thomann getting the Mountaineers out to a quick lead. Madigan Johns answered with a 3 for the Hematites to give Ishpeming the lead. The Hematites used a 5-0 run in the quarter to gain a bit of a cushion and take a 13-7 lead into the 2nd quarter.
The 2nd quarter started with the Hematites jumping all over the Mountaineers. The Hematites scored the first 8 points of the quarter to jump out to a 21-7 lead. The Mountaineers were none deterred by the run. After a Marissa Maino 3 put the Hematites up 14, the Iron Mountain outscored the Hematites 8-2 to close out the quarter. Ishpeming took a 26-18 lead into the locker rooms.
The third quarter saw a big performance from Mariah Austin. She scored 9 of her 11 points in the quarter and paced the Hematites’ offense. The Hematites used a strong offensive performance, scoring 22 in the 3rd quarter to increase their lead to 17 heading into the final quarter.
Down 17 and Iron Mountain looking out of it, they came out strong to begin the final quarter. Iron Mountain began the quarter on a 6-0 run with 4 coming from Riley Poupore. The comeback was halted when Chloe Sjoholm hit consecutive 3’s. Mariah Austin then had consecutive baskets and Mariah Bertucci registered a bucket to cap off a 12-0 run for the Hematites that put the game away. The Hematites came away with the win, 62-41.
The Hematites look to build on this win when they travel to Gwinn to take on the Modeltowners on Wednesday, February 1st. Tune into 98.3 WRUP and WRUP.com for all the action.