After losing to the Escanaba Eskymos the last time they met, the Ishpeming Hematites decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. Ishpeming strolled past Escanaba with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 61-46. Given Ishpeming's advantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 13th, while Escanaba is ranked 154th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
When it comes to explaining why Escanaba lost, one person who can't be blamed is Morgan Maki. Despite the final result, she scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and four blocks. Maki has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Katey Lamb, who scored 11 points along with three steals.
Keira Maki, who's played more minutes than anyone else on the Eskymos squad sat out for Thursday's game. With Maki sidelined, Escanaba had to make some changes to the lineup. And. McKenzie Engebretson made the most of the opportunity, scoring six points. A few more games like that and she might be seeing even more time going forward.
Ishpeming's win was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-1. As for Escanaba, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 10-9.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Ishpeming will take on Manistique at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Ishpeming knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 15 matchups -- so hopefully Manistique likes a good challenge. As for Escanaba, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Menominee at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
