MUNISING — The Baraga Vikings girls basketball team’s patience and ballhandling skills were on display in the fourth quarter Tuesday night in a 40-36 girls’ basketball triumph over Mackinaw City in a Division 4 state quarterfinal contest in Munising.

The top-ranked Vikings, who decided to go into a delay offense late in the third stanza, improved to 22-5. They face defending champion Fowler (20-7) in a semifinal game at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center today at 5:30 p.m.

The Comets finished 25-2 after the first state quarterfinal appearance in their school’s history.

“We took the air out of the ball because our offense got a little stagnant,” said Baraga coach Tyler Larson. “We just wanted to run as much time as we could off the clock and try to get out of here with a ‘W.’ They’re a very tough team, but we held them in check.

“This was our fourth tough game in a row and had to grind out every one of those. Corina was due to have a big scoring game. They were playing good defense on her. Our experience came through in the end. We weathered the storm.”

Senior Corina Jahfetson, who led the Vikings with 26 points, drained eight 3-point shots.

“We were able to score inside a little which helped me get open,” said Jahfetson, who scored 20 in the first half. “We wanted to get them out of position and draw some fouls. We kept calm and played our game. It feels amazing to be going back to the semifinals.”

Jahfetson opened the third frame with a 20-foot jump shot for a 30-19 cushion.

Senior Kylie Michaelson added a 22-foot jumper from the left wing, giving the Vikings a 33-21 advantage early in the third.

The Vikings then went cold from the floor and the Comets answered with a 9-0 run, climbing within 33-30 on senior Madison Smith’s jumper from the lane and free throw early in the fourth.

Senior Autumn Tembruell scored on a lay-in, then added a 19-foot set shot to put Baraga up 37-30 with five minutes, 36 seconds left to play.

Mackinaw City, however, shaved its deficit to 37-34 on junior Gracie Beauchamp’s set shot from the boulevard with 2:45 remaining.

Jahfetson put the Vikings up 40-34 on a jumper from top of the key before a layup by senior Larissa Huffman shaved Mackinaw City’s deficit to the final four-point margin with 2:07 left.

“Baraga has a great ball club,” said Comets coach Jake Huffman. “They forced us into situations we’re not used to. The girls got the deficit back down to give us some opportunities in the end, but Baraga did a nice job closing it out. Corina is a phenomenal player. She got hot in the first half and I thought Larissa did a phenomenal job on her in the second half. They’re so fast to the basketball. They took away a lot of stuff we normally do well.”

Smith scored 19 points and Sullivan hit nine for the Comets who committed 25 turnovers. The Vikings had 14.

Scoring

MC  11  8  8  9  –  36

BAR  14  13  6  7  –  40

MC – Smith 19, Huffman 4, Postula 2, Beauchamp 2, Sullivan 9. F: 10; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Sullivan 2, Smith.

BAR – Coronado 3, Michaelson 3, C. Jahfetson 26, Tembruell 4, K. Jahfetson 4. FT: 0-2; F: 10; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: C. Jahfetson 8, Coronado, Michaelson.