Houghton’s Ellie Hainault attempts a layup during the championship game of the inaugural Copper Country Holiday Tournament against Calumet at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Houghton Gremlins girls basketball team made history Tuesday as the inaugural winners of the Copper Country Classic Holiday Tournament held at the SDC Gym on the campus of Michigan Tech. They defeated the Calumet Copper Kings, 46-37.

In the consolation game, the Hancock Bulldogs outpaced the Jeffers Jets 42-27.

Championship game

In the championship game, the Gremlins and the Copper Kings jumped out to a 5-5 knot before the Gremlins took the lead and never looked back. They led 13-7 after one.

That lead morphed into a 22-18 lead at half.

“Our ball movement was solid all night long,” said Gremlins coach Julie Filpus. “We hit some big 3s, and that was key as well.”

Leading the charge for the Gremlins was Kate Filpus. She scored 13, with many of those points coming inside and off the glass. In short, when she would get the ball, she took it to the hoop. Following her in the scoring was Ruby Zawada with 10.

“Kate has put in some work in the offseason, and it has paid off,” said her coach.

Kate Filpus opened the third with a triple, and the Gremlins won the quarter, 10-8. The Gremlins kept the heat on in the fourth despite the Copper Kings coming within three points, 34-31, at around the 5:30 mark.

That is as close as they got as they could not stop the Gremlins’ inside game. With just less than a minute to go, the Gremlins led 42-35, and sealed the win.

Bailey Strom led the Copper Kings with 14 points.

“This was a team,” added coach Filpus. “I am pleased with the way we played.”

Consolation game

In the third-place girls game, the Bulldogs overcame a first quarter deficit to go on to win 42-27 over the Jets.

With a 7-6 lead after one, the Jets extended that lead to as many as five as the second quarter got under way.

However, Hancock battled back. A 13-8 lead by the Jets was transformed into a 14-13 lead for the Bulldogs thanks to a triple sunk by Alice Larson.

The two teams were knotted at 18 at half.

The third and fourth quarters belonged to the Bulldogs. They ran the Jets ragged as they outscored them 24-9 in the second two periods. The Bulldogs forced a number of turnovers, and those turnovers turned into easy buckets and an eventual 15-point win

“We moved the ball well and got out in transition well,” said Hancock coach Carsen Chynoweth. “We play better when we move the ball well, and that certainly was the case tonight.”

Alecia Aho led the scoring for Bulldogs with 13. Vayda Kinnunen scored seven for the Jets.

Hancock’s Lucy Biekkola looks at the basket during the consolation game of the inaugural Copper Country Holiday Tournament against Jeffers at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)