HANCOCK — The Hancock Bulldogs utilized another solid defensive effort to score a 61-32 nonconference win over the Dollar Bay Blue Bolts Friday in Hancock.

“We had a little bit of fire under our butt,” Hancock coach Jack Johnson said. “Mialy Brooks is really stepping up as a senior captain and as a leader and firing up the rest of the team. She generated some defensive energy that led to some tips and steals and let us open up the game.”

After leading 9-5 after the first quarter, Hancock took a 24-11 halftime lead after outscoring the Blue Bolts 15-6. 

Brooks finished with 10 points, while Jordan Pertile led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Delaney Heinonen also reached double figures with 11 points. 

“It was a game that we needed,” Johnson said. “We’re lacking confidence, especially on the offensive end. Shooting the ball, we struggled, but we needed this game so we can take some of that pressure off, especially with Calumet coming up.”

Dollar Bay’s Bobbi Jo Caskey paced the Blue Bolts with 13 points.

Next, Hancock (2-1) heads to Calumet on Tuesday, while Dollar Bay (0-2) hosts Jeffers on the same day. 

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Dollar Bay 5 6 14 7 — 32

Hancock 9 15 18 19 — 61

Dollar Bay — Stout 3, Gilles 2, Iacono 2, Poyhonen 4 Isaacson 8, Jo Caskey 13. F: 15; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 6-10; 3-point field goals: Isaacson 2. 

Hancock — M. Brooks 10, Sebbas 9, Pertile 18, Berg 5, Kero 8, Heinonen 11. F: 12; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 9-14; 3-point field goals: Pertile, Sebbas. 

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HOUGHTON — Foul trouble and a streaky Negaunee Miners squad led to the Houghton Gremlins losing 74-44 to the Miners in a nonconference game on Friday in Negaunee. 

Houghton trailed just 14-13 after the first quarter before Negaunee outscored the Gremlins 27-11 in the second for a 41-24 lead. Negaunee then outscored Houghton 22-6 in the third quarter for a 63-30 advantage.

“Negaunee shot the ball very well,” Houghton coach Julie Filpus said. “They worked together and they basically throttled us.”

Negaunee’s Natalie Bartle led the way with 23 points while Clara Johnson added 18 points. The Miners (3-0) also held a 37-18 edge on the boards. 

For Houghton (1-1), Kara Pietila paced the Gremlins with 22 points. 

Houghton dealt with early foul trouble as both Kendra Monette and Autumn Jacobson picked up two early fouls. 

“We kind of kept things together until the midway point of the second,” Filpus said. “We can go back to the first quarter and say we were ready to go. We hit shots, but we can’t let foul trouble happen. And No. 2, when they break us down (on defense), it’s not the end of the world. We have to keep our composure and get it back.”

Next, Houghton hosts Marquette on Tuesday. 

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Houghton 13 11 6 14 — 44

Negaunee 14 27 22 11 — 74

Houghton — Jacobson 2, Pietila 22, Rynnanen 2, Klein 6, Monette 6, Froberg 6. F: 13; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 15-21; 3-point field goals: Froberg. 

Negaunee — Karki 7, C. Johnson 18, Voshkuhl 2, Norman 4, Syrjala 3, Jacobson 7, Bartle 23, Nelson 10. F: 19; Fouled out: Shiroda; 3-point field goals: Karki, Syrjala. 

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BARAGA — A three-point first quarter doomed the Baraga Vikings in a Copper Mountain conference matchup, as the Ontonagon Gladiators earned a 45-40 win Friday in Baraga. 

“We started out slow tonight and it cost us by the end of the game,” Baraga coach Tom Goodreau said. “We missed some easy shots in the first half.”

Ontonagon took a 7-3 lead after the opening quarter before taking a 24-17 lead into halftime. The Vikings cut the deficit to two in the second half but were not able to take the lead due to turnovers.

“Ontonagon was patient offensively and took better care of the ball than we did tonight,” Goodreau said.

Ontonagon (2-0, 2-0) was led by Ella Menigoz and Jenny Labyak who each scored 12 points. 

For Baraga (0-3, 0-1), Allison Durant led the way with 12 points. 

Next, Ontonagon hosts Lake Linden-Hubbell on Tuesday, and Baraga welcomes Chassell on the same day.

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Ontonagon 7 17 10 11 — 45

Baraga 3 14 13 10 — 40

Ontonagon — Weisinger 2, E. Menigoz 12, T. Menigoz 6, Labyak 12, Laingren 2, Lutz 5, Kolpack 4, Fredrickson 2. F: 13; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 12-26; 3-point field goals: T. Menigoz 2, E. Menigoz, Labyak, Lutz. 

Baraga — M. Jahfetson 3, Kamarainen 2, A. Jahfetson 6, Lindemann 8, Tembreull 4, Durant 12, Pittsley 5. F: 18; Fouled out: A. Jahfetson; Free throws: 2-6; 3-point field goals: M. Jahfetson. 

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EWEN — Four of the five starters reached double figures as Ewen-Trout Creek beat Lake Linden-Hubbell 61-37 Friday night.

Elise Besonen led the Panthers with 20 points, Maddie Cronkright scored 13, Paige Berglund had 12 and Abbie LeGault tallied 10.

Besonen hit three straight from 3 and scored 13 of her 20 points in the second quarter. That prompted the Lakes to put Laura Lyons on her in a box-and-one defense, which limited her open shots.

“We did a good job of finding the open person against that box-and-one, we just didn’t shoot very well,” E-TC coach Jacky Besonen said. The Panthers shot 22 percent in the second half, compared to 46 percent in the first half.

E-TC had to adjust to LL-H’s speed early as not everybody was getting back on defense in time. After giving up 15 points in the first quarter, E-TC allowed just six in the second and expanded its lead to 41-21 at the half.

“They’re fast, you can tell they’re a track school,” Besonen said. “They got some layups on us at the beginning of the first quarter. We did a much better job in the second quarter of getting back.”

Berglund and Cronkright both had seven rebounds and Besonen and Berglund each had four assists. Besonen finished with six boards.

Laura Lyons led LL-H (1-2, 1-1) with 10 points.

E-TC (2-0, 1-0) goes to Republic-Michigamme for a non-conference game Tuesday night.

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LL-H 15 6 10 6 — 37

E-TC 24 17 10 10 — 61

LL-H – Erin Seppala 9, Mackenzie Lepage 3, McKenna Keranen 6, Joslynn Perala 5, Laura Lyons 10, Kierstyn Codere 4. FTs: 2-11. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: Seppala 2.

E-TC – Paige Berglund 12, Abbie LeGault 10, Elise Besonen 20, Maddie Cronkright 13, Ava Moilanen 4, Kaitlyn Brady 2. FTs: 6-7. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers; Besonen 4, Berglund 2, Cronkright 1.