Calumet’s Lea Bjorn shoots over Hancock’s Jordan Pertile (20) and D’Andra Kero during the first half Tuesday, in Calumet. (Bryce Derouin/Daily Mining Gazette)

CALUMET — If there was ever a game to test Jeff Twardzik’s stoic demeanor, it was Tuesday against the Hancock Bulldogs.

Calumet turned it over 27 times and saw a late 10-point lead cut to three in the final minute. Still, Twardzik sat relaxed in his chair, hand over his mouth while analyzing each moment as his team struggled.

“I always had the mentality that the kids have enough pressure on them, so for me to yell, I don’t think it’s going to calm them,” he said. “As much as I’m burning up inside and want to jump up and down, it’s more for the kids to keep them calm, so I try to keep myself calm, first.”

Whatever he was feeling inside, Twardzik could finally exhale after Calumet persevered with a 46-43 West-PAC victory in a tumultuous contest that had 62 turnovers, thanks to 35 miscues by Hancock.

Calumet senior Niina Anderson scored 15 points, while senior Lea Bjorn added 12 points and eight rebounds. Hancock sophomore D’Andra Kero scored a game-high 18 points.

Calumet shot 29 percent (18-62) while Hancock was 38 percent from the field (17-44) in a game that lacked any flow or continuity as both teams struggled with the other’s defensive pressure.

“To come out with the win is the No. 1 thing,” Twardzik said. “I think both teams were just really off. It was just one of those games where there was no rhythm to it and it was sloppy with lots of airballs to it. It just wasn’t a good basketball game.

“One thing I would say is I couldn’t be more proud of the way the kids played defense in the game. They were getting after it, and that ultimately won the game for us.”

The Copper Kings (2-0, 2-0 West-PAC) ran a 2-2-1 full-court press, man-to-man full-court pressure and a 3-2 zone that was extended into a half-court trap to force Hancock into error after error.

The game’s roughest stretch occurred during the first 3:40 of the second quarter. Calumet shot 1 of 6 and had six turnovers during that span, while the Bulldogs didn’t even get a shot up as they turned the ball over six times themselves. Twelve of Hancock’s miscues came in the second quarter.

“It was Calumet speeding us up and us doing things and making plays that aren’t characteristic of us as individual players,” Hancock coach Jack Johnson said. “We were trying to play beyond ourselves, and that’s something this group has not found yet. Playing within themselves and doing things that they’re capable of doing.”

And Hancock still had a chance to win despite its sloppy performance.

Trailing 46-36 with 1:18 remaining, Hancock’s D’Andra Kero knocked down a 3 before converting a layup off a Calumet turnover to trim the deficit to 46-41.

“She was looking to score, wasn’t hesitant and was pulling the trigger,” Johnson said of Kero.

Junior Janie Berg capped what ended up being a 9-0 Hancock run with a layup off a putback.

Calumet missed both ends of the team’s one-and-ones, but Hancock (2-2, 0-2 West-PAC) could not capitalize. An over-and-back violation with 12 seconds left resulted in the team’s final turnover of the night, and a half-court shot by sophomore Taylor Sebbas bounced off the backboard as the buzzer sounded after Calumet’s final miss from the line.

“Day in, day out, I think I’ve said the same thing: Our girls will compete and battle,” Johnson said. “But it was squandered opportunities. That was the message to the girls. We figure in a three-point game, you need two scores, and if we’re going to miss 35 possessions, we don’t deserve to win.”

Following a jumper from Calumet junior Ava Anderson for a 44-29 lead, the Copper Kings scored just two points over the final six minutes and had 10 total turnovers in the fourth quarter.

“It was incredibly surprising to me,” Twardzik said of his team’s turnovers down the stretch. “They’re level-headed kids who have been in some pressure situations, so I think they should be handling that a little bit better and letting the other team make mistakes and not us.”

Calumet built enough of a cushion in the third to survive down the stretch, closing the third quarter on a 15-2 run after Hancock sophomore Taylor Sebbas scored a layup to trim Calumet’s lead to 25-23.

Next, Calumet goes to Jeffers on Saturday in a contest that was originally scheduled for Dec. 5. Hancock goes to Ewen-Trout Creek on Thursday.

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Hancock 12 5 8 18 — 43

Calumet 16 9 15 6 — 46

Hancock — M. Brooks 10, Sebbas 9, Berg 2, Kero 18, Heinonen 4. F: 18; Fouled out: Heinonen; Free throws: 6-7; 3-point field goals: Brooks 2, Kero.

Calumet — Anderson 15, B. Johnson 2, Bjorn 12, A. Anderson 2, A. Johnson 2, Kiilunen 5, Kariniemi 8. F: 10; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 6-13; 3-point field goals: Bjorn 2, Kiilunen, Anderson.