Calumet’s Laura Giachino (30) shoots in front of Iron Mountain’s Andie Ellis (12) on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Calumet, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

Editor’s note: This game ended after press time for Friday’s edition. This story will also appear in Saturday’s print edition.

CALUMET — A pesky and fast Calumet girls basketball team made short order of the Iron Mountain Mountaineers on Thursday night with a score of 69-20.

With the win, the Copper Kings advance to 2-0 on the season. The Mountaineers fall to 0-3.

“We knew what we were coming into — that is a very good Calumet team,” said Mountaineers first-year head coach Marcus Celello. “They did not do anything that caught us by surprise. However, it is one thing to expect it and talk about it, but it is another thing to play against it.”

Calumet’s Marybeth Halonen opened the game with a lay up and the Copper Kings pushed out to an 8-0 lead in less than two minutes into the first quarter. Their game plan was a full-court press on defense and a fast transition on offense, and it worked.

“I was very pleased with our passing,” said Calumet head coach Matt Laho. “We had jump passes, outlet passes, and the girls were hitting the passing lanes as well. There were also a lot of good assists on the fast break down low. These are all things we work on in practice.”

The Copper Kings were up by 40 at half with a score of 51-11.

Laho added that he liked the aggressive shooting style of his team which include plenty of attempts from three-point land.

“I tell them that if they are open, go ahead and shoot,” he said. “They shouldn’t be afraid to shoot.”

Senior Elli Djerf led the scoring for Calumet with 17 points. Marybeth Halonen followed with 13.

Despite a lopsided score, Celello said not all was lost.

“I was proud of our starters who began the fourth quarter,” he said. “They didn’t give up. Then when the bench came in at the end, they played their tails off as they hustled up and down the floor despite the score. That shows a lot of heart for this team.”

Iron Mountain 6 5 5 4 — 20

Calumet 31 20 11 7 — 69