Hancock’s Sierrah Driscoll, right, defends against West Iron County during a Division 3 District 65 semifinal on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in Hancock, Mich. (Mike Croze/For the Gazette)

HANCOCK — For the second straight game in MHSAA Division 3 District 65 girls basketball tournament play, Hancock needed a big second half at home to move on.

The Bulldogs (12-9) delivered again, this time overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit Wednesday to eliminate West Iron County (10-11) in the district semifinal by a score of 47-42. Hancock will host the district championship at 7 p.m. Friday.

Hancock head coach Dan Pertile — who was able to celebrate his birthday with a victory – summed up the first half. “Everybody could see (Hancock was) playing hard. … (but) we missed a lot opportunities at the basket early on in the in the first quarter,” he said. “We were just being out-executed, and obviously (West Iron senior Emily Nelson) inside is a handful. … She’s really good. Uses her body well. She’s super strong.”

The Bulldogs survived a physical, scrappy battle against the Wykons to play another day, but West Iron made them earn it the entire way. Long post players dominated the contest with Hancock senior D’Andra Kero (22 points) leading all scorers. Nelson — a 6-foot-1 physical force — produced 17 points as well, but missed some critical minutes with a twisted ankle suffered late in the third quarter. She did return early in the fourth and played heroically, but was obviously hampered by the injury.

Both teams ended up in the double-bonus in the second half slugging it out, and foul shooting became a big factor, ultimately deciding the outcome. In particular, Hancock senior Taylor Sebbas and Kero combined to go 6-8 at the free throw line in the last two minutes to keep the game out of reach for West Iron. Kero was 5-6 overall for the game with all her foul shots coming in the second half.

The first quarter was tight early. After a triple less than 20 seconds into the game by Wykon junior Tori Bociek, the score was kept close but WIC eventually carved out an 13-8 advantage at the first horn. Offensive rebounds were a strength early on for the Blue and White.

To open the second quarter, WIC made a point of getting to the basket more with post-ups and in transition. A 7-1 Wykon run was capped off by a 3-pointer from senior Anna Malmquist, swelling the WIC lead to 20-9. That gap would hold up for the rest of the quarter. The Bulldogs simply were having a hard time executing offensively and containing Nelson in the paint.

But just like Monday night against Ironwood, Hancock made a halftime adjutment to their intensity and Pertile decided to gamble with a lot of ball pressure. That move paid off with forced turnovers. A drive and score from senior Jordan Pertile cut the WIC lead to five points halfway through the third quarter.

“(At halftime) we said ‘we’re just gonna lay it all out on the floor,'” said Coach Pertile. “We started trapping. We started gambling a little bit more and (West Iron) got a little bit frazzled. Fortunately, we were able get some easy baskets off of turnovers and the big difference was we hit a few shots again just like the other night.”

West Iron responded with timely scores to hold Hancock at bay though. Two more times over the next two minutes, the Bulldogs pulled within five again on Kero jumpers, including one 3-pointer. But West Iron kept answering at their own offensive end.

Then with 1:40 left in the third, Nelson went down hard under the WIC basket, apparently having stepped on Kero’s foot and re-injuring her left ankle after having twisted it earlier in the season. She would miss the rest of the frame.

Hancock took advantage and Kero’s mid-court steal and finish to the rim brought the Bulldogs to within two points for the first time in the half with 55 seconds left. That score, 34-32 West Iron, would hold until the start of the fourth quarter.

Nelson was able to return to the game about a minute into the fourth after treatment on the bench from the team trainer. The teams traded blows until Hancock was able to force the first tie of the ballgame at 36-36, following an offensive rebound and nice assist from freshman Kaisa Salani to Kero for a drive through the paint. Kero then drilled a three with 5:48 left to give Hancock its first lead, 39-36, which it would never relinquish.

Another Kero bucket gave some breathing room to the Red and Yellow and although WIC was able to stay aggressive and get to the line to shoot and make free throws at a decent rate (3-5), Hancock’s own foul shooting was strong enough to close things out. Kero’s two makes with 29 seconds left were especially crucial to force a 2-possesion game at 46-42 in Hancock’s favor.

“I thought it was a tale of two halves,” said Wykon coach Eric Shamion. “I thought the first half we controlled the game, held them to single digits in both quarters, and I thought we handled pressure really well.

“But (Hancock) came out with a little more energy, a little more fire in that second half. Ended up getting some easy buckets in the lane, and maybe wore us down a little bit too. … The pressure took its toll.”

The Bulldogs will host Calumet for the district final.

West Iron 13 13 8 8 — 42

Hancock 8 7 17 15 — 47

WEST IRON COUNTY (42): Nelson 17, Shamion 9, Malmquist 7, Mazurek 4, Bociek 3, Grubbs 2. FT: 11-18. 3-point FG: Malmquist 2, Bociek 1.

HANCOCK (47): Kero 22, Sebbas 9, Salani 8, Driscoll 3, Hebert 3, Pertile 2. FT: 12-21. 3-point FG: Kero 2.