Calumet's Bailey Strom faces off with Ishpeming's Mya Hemmer during a game Thursday at the Calumet High School gym. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

CALUMET — Calumet Copper Kings girls basketball coach Charlie Kemppainen knew he had his work cut out for himself Thursday as his girls faced the Ishpeming Hematites on the hardwood at home. While the Copper Kings lost, 47-35, Kemppainen was quite pleased with the effort his girls showed against an Ishpeming team that won the state title in basketball in 2024.

“They (Ishpeming) are a good team,” said Kemppainen. “It would not surprise me if they go deep into the playoffs come March. But, I love how hard our girls played against them.

“I am not disappointed. We are undersized, but we play hard.”

Hard play led the Copper Kings (1-1) to their only lead of the game at 4-0 in the opening minutes. While they added two more, the Hematites closed the first with a 10-6 lead. That morphed into a nine-point lead at half time.

“Our second half was better as I thought we played them closer,” Kemppainen added. “They had a size advantage on us, and we need to work on our shooting. I thought we rushed our shots at times, and we, obviously, need to make our shots.”

While the Hematites won the third 11-7, the Copper Kings eked out a 9-8 victory in the fourth. However, that one-point difference was not enough to catch the Hematites in the end.

Michigan Tech women’s basketball recruit Jennesa Eagle led the Hematites in scoring with 24 points. Bailey Strom led the Copper Kings with 12.

Up next

The Copper Kings head to Negaunee to face the Miners on Monday.