HOUGHTON — Utilizing a quick start, the Houghton Gremlins earned a 67-26 nonconference win over the Ontonagon Gladiators (8-10) Thursday in Houghton.

Houghton led 18-2 after the first quarter, setting the tone for the night.

“It was a great team win. We really focused on pushing the ball hard,” Houghton head coach Julie Filpus said.

Sloane Zenner led Houghton (17-0) with 13 points, giving her 974 career points. She has a chance to get 1,000 Monday in Calumet.

Ontonagon 2 9 6 9 — 26

Houghton 18 24 15 10 — 67

Ontonagon — Wesinger 2, Weiner 2, Allen 3, Kolpack 8, Saari 2, Lutz 6, Labyak 3. F: 13; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 2-5; 3-point field goals: None.

Houghton — Dillinger 5, Ryynanen 8, Zenner 13, C. Monette 4, K. Monette 4, Colling 2, Froberg 6, Kyllonen 2, Magyar 4, Pietila 13, Markham 2, Klein 4. F: 10; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 15-19; 3-point field goals: Ryynanen 2.

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EWEN — The Ewen-Trout Creek Panthers made it 11 in a row with a 58-19 Copper Mountain Conference win over the Watersmeet Nimrods Thursday in Ewen.

Elise Besonen led the way with 20 points for the Panthers (11-2, 10-1), while Paige Berglund scored 12 and Maddy Cronkright added 11.

“Our team did a nice job offensively of moving the ball around and finding the open person,” E-TC head coach Jacky Besonen said. “Another awesome team win.”

In addition to an efficient offense, E-TC had a strong defensive effort by utilizing a box-and-1 on Watersmeet’s Bethany Baldwin, limiting Watersmeet’s top scorer to 10 points.

“Gracie Witt and Paige Berglund shared the duty of playing the one on Bethany,” Besonen said. “The rest of the team did a great job of doubling her anytime she got around her defender.”

Next, E-TC hosts L’Anse tonight.

Watersmeet 6 5 1 7 — 19

E-TC 27 19 7 5 — 58

Watersmeet — Baldwin 10, Caron 3, Grosso 2, Pallin 4. F: 7; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 5-11; 3-point field goals: None.

E-TC — Witt 5, Berglund 12, Brady 4, Driesenga 6, Besonen 20, Cronkright 11. F: 12; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 1-4; 3-point field goals: Cronkright 3, Besonen 2, Berglund 2.

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L’ANSE — The Hancock Bulldogs played a near-perfect road game and it was enough to have a lead after three quarters against the L’Anse Purple Hornets, 47-45. However, a 17-point final quarter allowed the Hornets to storm back and steal victory from the Bulldogs, 62-57, in a preview of the district opener for both teams.

“It was a little bit sloppy at times, but still pretty good defense overall,” said Purple Hornets coach Scott Lloyd. “When you score 62 points in girls basketball, you should win.”

The Purple Hornets (7-8, 2-4) struggled throughout the night to find an answer for Hancock’s (8-7, 0-5) Maija Sebbas, who posted 29 points in the loss despite getting only two points in the first quarter.

“That Sebbas girl, she can shoot from range,” said Lloyd. “She can shoot from a long way out there.”

In order to combat Sebbas’ shooting ability, the Purple Hornets employed different defensive looks before finally settling on something that seemed to work late in the game.

“We started off with a box-and-1 with [Taylor] Brown guarding Sebbas,” said Lloyd. “We kind of stayed in that until midway through the second quarter. Then we went into a full man. We stayed with the man until the end of the third and then, starting the fourth quarter, we went to 3-2 zone. That seemed to throw her off-kilt long enough for us to score and keep them from scoring.”

Alexis Francois led the way for the Purple Hornets with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Next, L’Anse goes to Ewen-Trout Creek tonight; Hancock hosts West Iron County on Monday.

Hancock  14  14  19  10 – 57

L’Anse  13  14  18  17 – 62

HCH: M. Sebbas 29, Kero 13, Heinonen 6, T. Sebbas 4, Pertile 3, Brooks 2; FT: 10-12; 3-point field goals: M. Sebbas 3, Kero 3, Pertile 1

LHS: Francois 20, Brown 18, Froberg 8, Dix 8, Matson 5, Jorgenson 3; FT: 13-18; 3-point field goals: Matson 1, Jorgenson 1, Brown 2

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BARAGA — If someone could have predicted before the season that the Baraga Vikings would be 14-2 after defeating the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes Thursday night, Vikings coach Keith Willis would not have believed them.

Yet after a complete performance that included Carsyn Osterman’s second career, and second this season, triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, that is exactly where the Vikings are.

“I think she came into the game with a clear mind, and she’s pretty much our bedrock,” said Willis. “Even if she’s not scoring, she is doing a lot of good things for us.”

With their offensive catalyst back at 100 percent, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.

Megan Kinnunen also had a strong night for the Vikings, chipping in 12 points including three 3-pointers. Willis was excited to see Kinnunen rewarded for her efforts.

“She did that coming off the bench, so that’s huge,” said Willis. “She can hit the 3. I have been waiting for her to play as well as I think she can.”

Willis was impressed with how hard the Lakes fought, right to the final buzzer, especially considering that the Lakes were without a couple of starters and called up players from their junior varsity team to fill the gaps.

“To give Lake Linden credit, those kids didn’t quit,” said Willis. “Their coach did a nice job with what she had. They could have folded up the tent at any time and they didn’t.”

Next, Baraga (14-2, 11-1) goes to Ewen-Trout Creek on Monday; LL-H (3-13, 3-9) goes to Republic-Michigamme on the same day.

Lake Linden  5  10  10  6 – 31

Baraga  16  19  14  18 – 67

LLH: Seppala 8, Lepisto 2, Destrampe 8, Codere 7, Perrala 6; FT: 5-10; 3-point field goals: Seppala 2

BHS: M. Jahfetson 4, M. Kinnunen 12, J. Kinnunen 7, Mleko 10, Osterman 19, Clisch 4, A. Jahfetson 9, Pittsley 2; FT: 6-10; 3-point field goals: M. Kinnunen 3, Osterman 2