Ishpeming, MI – January 8th, 2019 – It had been a tough season so far for the Ishpeming Hematites girls basketball team, but they were hopeful for a win in their game against the Gwinn Modeltowners. Mike Plourde was filling in for a sick Tyler Young, so the dynamic duo, Mike Plourde and Bob Nadeau, were back in action for 98.3 WRUP!
The Ishpeming Hematites fell behind the Gwinn Modeltowners 4-0 early in the first quarter, but thanks to a great in-bounds pass, the Hematites closed the gap down to 4-2. Gwinn continued to pull away as the minutes fell off the score clock, and with two minutes left, they led 11-4. As the Hematites continued to try their best, they couldn’t contend with Gwinn making over 50% of their shots in the quarter.
First Quarter Score
Ishpeming Hematites: 7
Gwinn Modeltowners: 16
Although it was a rough first quarter, the Ishpeming Hematites immediately started to battle back in the second. For every point that the
Gwinn Modeltowners were able to score, the Hematites answered and then some. With four minutes to play, Ishpeming closed the gap to less than ten points. Soon the score was 23-19 with the Modeltowners still leading, however, the Hematites were poised to take the lead. Before the first half was over, Ishpeming pulled to within four points of the Modeltowners.
First Half Score
Ishpeming Hematites: 23
Gwinn Modeltowners: 27
The Modeltowners must have been scolded in the locker room at halftime, because they came out on fire, jumping out to a 32-23 lead in the first minutes of the second half. Gwinn wasn’t going to let up on the pressure anytime soon, and the Ishpeming Hematites were getting into foul trouble attempting to stop the
Modeltowners’ offense. With 3:30 left in the third quarter, the Hematites had fallen back to almost ten points behind Gwinn with a score of 35-27, but Ishpeming wasn’t showing any signs of giving up. With less than one minute to play in the quarter, the score was 36-29 for Gwinn, and the Hematites would only have one final quarter to try and overtake the Modeltowners for the win.
Third Quarter Score
Ishpeming Hematites: 29
Gwinn Modeltowners: 36
It had been an up and down game for the Ishpeming Hematites, but they got out to a great start in the fourth quarter, almost tying the score in the first two minutes. At six minutes to play in the game, the Hematites trailed 41-37, but the game was very much within their reach if they could stop Gwinn’s amazing shooting. The play slowed down immensely in the second half of the fourth, as both teams carefully used fouls to stop their opponent’s drive. As the clock approached 3:30 left in the game, the
Hematites were forced to burn one of their timeouts to stop a Modeltowners scoring run as Gwinn continued to lead 44-37. Ishpeming was able to make it a two-point game, 45 to 43, with one minute left in the game, and it would all come down to the final possessions for each team. 30 seconds were left on the clock, and Gwinn was forced to use their second to last timeout as they barely clung to their lead of two points. Ishpeming answered with their last timeout of the game just two seconds later. As the final seconds came off the clock, the Hematites were unable to put the ball in the basket, but they went into the locker rooms with their heads held high after a hard-fought game.
Final Game Score
Ishpeming Hematites: 45
Gwinn Modeltowners: 50