Ewen-Trout Creek’s Emma Besonen, center, hands the ball off to Bree Besonen, right, while being defended by Ishpeming’s Kadie Kaukola during their MHSAA Division 4 girls basketball regional tournament championship game held in Baraga on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

BARAGA — A lot has changed since Ishpeming Hematites girls basketball last won a regional championship.

Ten different men have been president of the United States. All four men of The Beatles were still alive. The world was six years away from discovering that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father.

But all that ended on Wednesday.

With a 70-42 win over Ewen-Trout Creek, the Hematites claimed their first regional championship since 1974, and are one game away from reaching Breslin Center.

“We’ve been talking about doing this since elementary school,” Ishpeming senior Jenna Maki said. “It’s always been ‘our senior year we’re going to go all the way.’ It means so much. Hopefully we can do that.”

After seemingly holding control of the game for the majority of the game, the Panthers found ways to drive to the rim and draw fouls. A 22-10 Hematities’ lead shrunk to a 25-20 advantage as the second frame came to a close.

With a 3-pointer from sophomore Jenessa Eagle sandwiched between putbacks from senior Lilly Swanson and Maki, the Hematites used a 7-2 run to carry a 32-22 lead at the half.

Then Ishpeming’s vaunted pressure began to wreak havoc on Ewen’s offense, which turned into opportunities on the other end of the floor. It gave Ishpeming sophomore Mya Hemmer her chance to make an impact on the game.

Hemmer went to work in the paint, made a basket and drew a foul to extend the lead to 36-22. She knocked down three free throws to push the lead to 45-22, forcing a Panthers’ timeout.

Ewen came up empty-handed on its ensuing offensive possession. Hemmer came up with the rebound and dashed down the court like she had the lead in the final lap of the Daytona 500. She evaded every defender in her way for a layup as the second to last blow of a 15-0 run which also featured eight points from Maki for a 47-22 lead.

The Hematites never looked back in the win.

“It’s special for this school and program,” Ishpeming coach Ryan Reichel said. “I’m excited to be able to continue battling with this team. We’re hoping we’re not done yet.”

Maki led all players with 21 points. Eagle and Hemmer added 13 points apiece. Senior Allison Morton totaled eight points. Swanson and senior Payton Manninen added four points each. Junior Journey Comment added a four-quarter corner three, which sent the Ishpeming faithful into a frenzy. Senior Kadie Kaukola and junior Laynie Korpi each scored two points.

While Ewen’s season came to an end on Wednesday, it still finished 20-6 with a district title and the deepest playoff run of any team in the Copper Mountain Conference.

The Panthers also accomplished everything with a roster consisting of three sophomores and six players still in junior high.

Ewen coach Jacky Besonen admitted that some people didn’t think that the youthful Panthers could reach this point. She believed that the Panthers could manufacture success since the beginning of the season.

“It’s huge to make it this far,” Besonen said. “But, at the same time, they like basketball, and I think they’re oblivious to their age. They just want to go play hard and want to win. They’re competitive.

“It was great for them. Great experience.”

Sophomore Irelynd McGeshick paced the Panthers with 14 points. Eighth-grader Bree Besonen totaled 13 points. Sophomore Emma Besonen added 10 points. Sophomore Hannah Ferguson earned three points. Seventh-grader Leona Schutz earned two points.

The Hematities season continues in the state quarterfinal round against St. Ignace, currently slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Gladstone High School. The Saints knocked off Munising 54-33 on Wednesday.

And while breaking a 50-year drought is something Ishpeming is proud of, it knows that it didn’t get this far just to get this far.

“I’m willing to play until I can’t run anymore,” Maki said. “I think all the girls on this team would do the same thing… push until the last second. It doesn’t matter if we’re down by 20, we’ll keep pushing.”