HANCOCK — A strong defense and an aggressive offensive made for a winning combination on Friday night as the Hancock girls’ basketball team downed the Iron Mountain Mountaineers 55-25.

It was Hancock’s game to lose from the opening tip-off. They held the Mountaineers (2-7) to less than 10 points in each quarter and had three girls in double figures.

“I was really pleased with our start,” said Bulldogs’ head coach, Ward Helakoski. “We took control well. I thought we were confident, decisive and shared the ball well. We were all on the same page, and I thought that was a really good start.”

“Among those with a good start was junior Kaisa Salani. She had back-to-back baskets which included a three-point play in the opening minutes of the game. Salani would go on to score 11 points on the night.

Iron Mountain struggled with controlling the ball. They had too many turnovers on the night but particularly more in the first quarter. They did not score their first basket until the 2:26 mark in the first, and by that time it was 16-2 Bulldogs tilt. The second quarter looked a lot like the first.

“We weren’t able to get our offense going like we wanted to,” said Iron Mountain head coach Karen Ellis. “On defense we fouled too much, and we weren’t able to stop them.”

At half time it was a 37-14 Bulldog tilt.

More good passing and strong teamwork characterized the third and fourth quarters for Hancock.

“This whole week we’ve shared the ball well,” said Helakoski. “I’ve been very pleased with the variety of passes the team is using whether that’s been a bounce pass in the paint or a kick-out pass out top.”

Ellis said her squad’s best seven minutes were the fourth.

She said, “We were able to move the ball around well and find a little rhythm in our game.”

The Mountaineers won the fourth 8-7 but had two girls foul out. Both Emma Ellis and Annslee Runsat had five fouls.

For the Bulldogs, Isabella Hebert once again led the scoring with 16 points. Both Salani and Maari Brey had 11.

“When we got Maari in there, she really got it going,” said her coach. “It was good to see.”

IMHS 6 8 3 8 — 25

HCHS 20 17 11 7 — 55

IRON MOUNTAIN (25): Bal 2, Runsat 9, Maycroft 1, Sorenson 6, Powell 1, Lewis 6. 3-pointers: none. FO: Ellis, Runsat. FT: 9-15.

HANCOCK (55): Chynoweth 3, Heinonen 1, Pietila 5, Brey 11, Kero 3, Salani 11, Driscoll 3, Hebert 16, Koskela 2. 3-pointers: Chynoweth 1, Brey 1, Kero 1. FT: 14-26.