CALUMET — Practice and more practice helped Kristin Hager-Peterson to heights in Calumet High sports history.

In addition to becoming the first Copper King cager — female or male — to score more than 1,000 points in a career, she was just the second CHS hoopster to play at Michigan Tech.

Inducted into the Calumet Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, Kristen said she practiced incessantly.

“When my father wasn’t with me on the home court, I had a friend out there tossing the basketball back to me,” she said at the time of the induction. “It was something I really wanted to excel in.”

She was also a track standout at the school, helping them to a U.P. title in 1988.

She still holds a number of basketball records at CHS, including a 40-point showing versus Chassell in 1986.

She hit a record 15 free throws (against Ontonagon) and was 90.1 percent at the line as a senior.

After gaining all-conference and All-U.P. honors as a senior, she gained fourth team All-State laurels.

Kristen played in the first U.P. Classic All-Star game. She was named Most Valuable Player in that game.

MTU coach Kevin Borseth recruited her to play for the Huskies. Borseth was immediately struck by her work ethic.

“(Hager) is a very smart player,” Borseth said. “But she’s an even harder worker.”

The Calumet High product played four years in Houghton and was a part of three GLIAC champions.

Tech advanced to the Division II Final Four in 1993, placing third. The Huskies posted a record of 92-27 between 1992 and 2003.

“Playing in the Final Four was a big thrill for me,” she said. “It doesn’t get much better.”

The success of recent Calumet girls teams has been followed closely by Hager-Peterson.

The Copper Kings girls won a Class C state title a few years ago. In the current season, the team is undefeated and in the state quarterfinals with a perfect record.

“A lot of credit goes to the coaches and the kids for that success,” she said.

Hager-Peterson received the Michigan Tech Scholastic Achievement Award in each of the four years she attended the university.