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NORWAY -- Behind a double-double with game highs 21 points and 11 rebounds from Elli Djerf, and 20 points from Marybeth Halonen, Calumet blasted Norway 73-30 in MHSAA Division 3 District 65 action Monday night.
Djerf also dished out seven assists and recorded nine steals on the evening.
After a closely contested first quarter, the UPSSA No. 4 Copper Kings began to use a stifling three-quarter court press and a swarming trap of the ball.
It completely overwhelmed the Knights (3-18), causing them to turn the ball over many times, leading to several transition buckets for Calumet (17-3).
Along with grabbing a significant amount of offensive rebounds in the half, which created second chance points, Calumet got out to a significant lead by halftime and never looked back, playing hard throughout the contest.
Copper Kings head coach Matt Laho said that in the first half, he felt his team played sloppy defense and gave Norway too many easy baskets.
"I told them at halftime that in the second half, they needed to buckle down and play better defense, and they did that," Laho said. "We executed a whole lot better in the second half and as far as our play went, it was tale of two halves."
Calumet used a fast tempo transition offense throughout most of the basketball game.
The Knights defensive dictated the way the Copper Kings ran their offense Laho said.
"When a team wants to suck back in to a zone, we like to push the tempo in order to get good looks at the basket," Laho said. "The way they were playing defense, we never really got a chance to set up our half court offense."
The Knights struggled offensively throughout the game. The were led in scoring on the night by junior Mackenzie Clifford with 12 points, while sophomore Kassi Gyselinck chipped in 11 points.
"We came out really nervous, and Calumet plays like they've been there before," said Norway head coach Joe Tinti. "They pressured us for three quarters, forcing us to play at their speed, and that's not our speed. We couldn't keep up and it hurt us, especially because we're not very deep off of the bench."
The Copper Kings host Iron Mountain (2-18) in a district semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Calumet 19 21 22 11 -- 73
Norway 11 11 3 5 -- 30
CALUMET (73): C. Loukus 4, J. Loukus 15, Djerf 21, Sturos 4, Halonen 20, Storm 6, Beiring 1, Torola 2. FT: 9-14. F: 18. 3-point FG: J. Loukus (2), Halonen (2). Fouled Out: None. FG: 30-77. Rebounds: 42 (Djerf 11, Loukus 8).
NORWAY (30): Anderson 4, Lindsley 1, Stanchina 2, Gyselinck 11, Clifford 12. FT: 9-17. F: 12. Fouled Out: None. 3-point FG: Clifford 1, Anderson 1, Gyselinck 1.