CRUISE CONTROL: Eskymos Overwhelm Maroons

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and hear post-game comments from both team's head coaches.

ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School girls basketball team improved to 12-0 on the season with a 62-46 win over the Menominee Maroons Monday night. The Eskymos led by as many as 27 points in the game. as they stayed atop the Great Northern Conference standings.

The Eskymos raced to a 33-10 halftime lead, and after scoring the first four points of the second half, Coach Tracy Hudson backed off on the pressure defense and substitued freely in the fourth quarter. He got everyone involved in what was a twelth straight win.

"It was a great team effort," Hudson said. "I thought we came out with a lot of great defensive intensity, and we took control. Menominee showed a lot of character and kept fighting and battling back. I was really happy with how we were flying around (defensively). We were long. We were athletic. We were getting deflections and steals, and that's a big part of our game."

Keira Maki continues to battle back from her early-season injury. She had another double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Grayson LaMarche contributed 14 points, Saylor Henderson knocked down three triples and scored 11 points. Mari Bink chipped in ten points.

Menominee fell to 3-8 and 0-2 in the Great Northern Conference. But Coach Lucas Chouinard was happy to see his team keep fighting in the final 13 minutes of the game, outscoring the Eskymos, 36-25, to close a 27-point deficit to a 16-point loss.

"Very proud of the way we competed in the second half," Chouinard said. "That was the message in the locker room: we just want to see you girls compete. We wanted to see the DNA of what we've got on our team. I thought we did that, outscoring them in the second half. They're learning. It's been a process. They're learning how to play at the varsity level."

The Maroons travel to St. Ignace for a tournament this weekend. They will play the third-ranked Saints Friday night, and either Frankfort or Pickford on Saturday.

"It's an exciting opportunity for our girls," Chouinard said. "Just to be able to get out of town for a couple of days and do some team bonding, and do some team activities there, and play some basketball as well. We'll see how it goes."

Junior Hanna Drifka led the Maroons with 13 points, while freshman Gianna Coduti and junior Anna Axtell both chipped in ten points.

As for the Eskymos, they improved to 5-0 in the GNC and 12-0 overall. They will travel to Bark River-Harris (7-4) this Friday night.

"We're just trying to get a little better in every area, and a little tougher," Hudson said. "I thought we could have blocked out better tonight. Against Bark River, we're going to see a very committed 2-3 zone (defense). And then we'll try to get ready for Calumet next Friday."