ISHPEMING — The Ishpeming girls basketball team came close to getting a win on its home court Thursday night, but came up just short in the end, falling 36-33 to Hancock. Emma Poirier led the Hematites with 25 points, while D’Andra Kero had 14 for the Bulldogs.

“Free throws and layups have been our kryptonite in the four close games we’ve lost,” Ishpeming head coach Ryan Reichel said. “We have to get better at the little things to help close these games. Tonight, we defended great, but missed some easy shots and free throws. We went 1-3-1 (on defense) to help slow their motion offense down and it seemed to help us. But we just couldn’t capitalize on stops and it ultimately caused us to lose the game. I was happy that we handled Hancock’s press. They compete hard and I like the way we responded.”

Hancock led by three points after the first quarter and by one at the half at 14-13. The Bulldogs then padded their lead to 25-20 and held off the Hematites in the fourth quarter to get the victory.

Hancock 9 5 11 11 — 36

Ishpeming 6 7 7 13 — 33

FG shooting: Unavailable; FT shooting: Hancock 10 of 16 (62.5 percent); Ishpeming 7 of 13 (53.8 percent); Rebounding, Unavailable.

HANCOCK — Chynoweth 1-3-5; Sebbas 2-2-6; Brey 1-0-2; D. Kero 4-4-14; Salani 1-0-2; Driscoll 0-1-1; Hebert 3-0-6. Totals 12-10-36.

ISHPEMING — Poirier 8-7-25; Mead 1-0-2; Koski 1-0-3; Mattila 1-0-3. Totals 11-7-33.