REPUBLIC — Skye Ledzian and Hannah Clark each posted double-doubles as North Dickinson opened the girls basketball season Tuesday by beating Republic-Michigamme 65-31.

Ledzian had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Clark added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Briana Smith and Ashton Hord had 11 points apiece.

“For the first game we played pretty solid from start to finish,” said ND coach Kirk Mattson. “We played very good team defense. We were very unselfish with the ball on offense and always found our open players.”

ND grabbed 40 rebounds including 15 offensive.

The Nordics host Bark River-Harris on Friday in the Skyline Central Conference opener.

RM edged ND 28-25 in the junior varsity game.

North Dickinson 16 17 21 11 — 65

Republic Michigamme 6 8 9 8 — 31

NORTH DICKINSON (65): B. Smith 11, Hord 11, K. Smith 7, Clark 12, Ledzian 14, Gustafson 4, Bruette 6. FT: 2-5. F: 19. 3PT: B. Smith 1, Hord 1

REPUBLIC (31): Radcliff 2, Jarvi 1, Raisanen 14, Kaminen 1, Ball 2, Ambuehl 6, Erickson 4, Westman 1. FT: 7-20. F: 12.

Kingsford wins opener

ISHPEMING — Kingsford High School senior Olivia Allen and junior Brooke Kriegl combined for 32 points while a cold-shooting and foul-laded second quarter for the Ishpeming High School varsity girls basketball team propelled the Flivvers passed the Hematites 56-45 in a season-opening non-conference tilt at the IHS gym on Monday night.

Kingsford head coach Lisa Harry said a slow start turned into a strong finish.

“It took us a little bit to settle down but once we did, we were off and running,” she said. “We got things going in the second quarter. They were in foul trouble, we were getting to the free throw line and we were able to take advantage of that somewhat.”

It was a back and forth first quarter with each side hitting shots on their end of the floor. The largest lead of the first was three, and the Flivvers held a 15-13 lead after a layup from Allen beat the buzzer on a pass from Kriegl.

The Hematites (0-1) went cold after that, being outscored 19-3 in the frame, with Allen and Kriegl combining for 11 on that run. Ishpeming had just one shot fall in the second from sophomore forward Rebekah Loman, which came with roughly three minutes to play before halftime. The third Hematites point came on a free throw from sophomore guard Jocelynn Nyman.

The big second quarter for Kingsford put the Flivvers up 34-16 at halftime.

Ishpeming was 8 of 12 from the free throw line while Kingsford was 7 of 15. The Hematites picked up 33 rebounds with Nyman getting 11 while Kingsford had 30 rebounds with Allen getting 6.

Kingsford (1-0) hosts Forest Park on Friday while Ishpeming visits Westwood on Monday.

Kingsford also won the JV game 41-24.

Kingsford 15 19 14 8 — 56

Ishpeming 13 3 21 8 — 45

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

KINGSFORD (56): Olkkonen 2-0-5, Kriegl 2-0-13, Cook 1-2-3, Doolittle 2-0-4, Kowalkowski 1-0-3, Allen 7-5-19, Strehlow 2-0-4, Strutz 2-1-5. Totals 19-7-56. FT: 7-15. Rebounds: 30 (Allen 6).

ISHPEMING (45): Poirier 5-0-12, Mead 2-2-6, Nyman 2-1-6, Pruett 4-3-14, Hooper 1-2-5. Totals. 14-8-45. FT: 8-12. Rebounds: 33 (Nyman 11).

— This report is by The Mining Journal staff writer Ryan Spitza.

Forest Park holds off Wolves

CARNEY — Mercedes Simmons’ 16 points and 15 rebounds powered Forest Park past Carney-Nadeau 42-33 in a girls basketball season opener Tuesday.

“It was a real nice game and the girls played super hard,” said Lady Trojans coach Jackie Giuliani. “We played with intensity on defense and waited for the nice open shot on offense.”

Simmons added 6 steals and 3 blocks. Dalas Loehr had 13 points.

Forest Park visits Kingsford on Friday.

Forest Park 13 8 10 11 — 42

Carney-Nadeau 9 4 11 9 — 33

FOREST PARK (42): Simmons 15, Loehr 13, Honkala 6, Nocerini 5, Soderberg 3. FT: 8-22. F: 14, 3PT: Loehr 3, Nocerini 1. FG: 15-42. Rebounds: 31 (Simmons 16).

CARNEY-NADEAU (33): Boulton 12, Wagner 6, Blahnik-Thoune 6, Thoune 6, Theoret 2, Poupore 1. FT: 9-17. F. 20. 3PT: None. FG: 12-51. Rebounds: 30

Bobcats fall to Laona-Wabeno

FLORENCE, Wis. — A second-half comeback fell short as Florence bowed to Laona-Wabeno 56-49 in Northern Lakes Conference girls basketball Tuesday.

The Bobcats (1-2, 0-1) trailed 27-20 at halftime.

“We can’t seem to finish a half,” said Florence head coach Brad Perry, noting a lapse to end the first half and problems late in the game as well.

Kylie Higgins’ 20 points led the Rebels. Florence’s Jenna Springer scored 15 points, followed by Jordyn Springer with 10 and Cassie Larson with eight.

Perry said full-court pressure reduced the deficit to three points with about eight minutes remaining.

“We kind of ran out of gas and an costly turnovers,” Perry said.

Florence hosts Elcho on Friday.

Lacey Enders’ 14 points lifted the Florence junior varsity past Laona-Wabeno 31-22.

Norway downs Rapid River

NORWAY — First and third-quarter defense sent Norway past Rapid River 42-33 in Skyline Central Conference girls basketball Tuesday.

The Knights built a 13-6 lead in the first quarter and a 14-7 run in the third boosted the difference to 35-26.

“We were able to put some pressure on them and get some turnovers,” said Knights coach Joe Tinti, noting a 13-2 lead at one point in the quarter.

Ada VanHolla’s 14 points led the Knights. Tinti commended Haley Clifford for her defense on Kristin Goodacre, who was held to two points Tuesday after scoring 17 last year against the Knights.

“This is the first time this group has played together and they played well,” Tinti said.

Norway visits Niagara on Thursday.

Rapid River 6 13 7 7 — 33

Norway 13 8 14 7 — 42

RAPID RIVER (33): Thibault 4. Moss 2, Goodacre 2, Belanger 14, Schwartz 3, Christianson 8. FT: 5-24. F: 19 (Goodacre fouled out).

NORWAY (42): Anderson 5, H. Clifford 9, Neuens 1, Mattia 4, M. Clifford 3, Gyselinck 6, VanHolla 14. FT: 10-25. F: 20. 3PT: Anderson, VanHolla.

Jets beat Mid Peninsula

ST. NICHOLAS — A second quarter explosion propelled the North Central girls basketball team in a season opening 54-36 win over Mid Peninsula here Tuesday. The Jets scored 20 points in the period and frustrated the Wolverines with a full court press.

“We shot really good from the field,” Jets coach Lee Vincent said. “The nerves got to us a little bit in the first quarter but after we settled down we really played well.”

The Jets were able to hit from the outside in the second quarter so Wolverines coach Phil Croasdell decided to switch up to man-to-man defense in the second half.

“In the second and third quarter they (Jets) shot over 50 percent,” Croasdell said. “When we switched to man we took away some of their outside shooting but then they were able to get inside on us.”

Breaking the press was a problem for the Wolverines, and Croasdell saw the impact it had on his team from a mental standpoint.

“They (Jets) kind of deflated us,” he said. “Their press got us frustrated. And on the flip side, our press didn’t pan out tonight — usually we get steals off of it. I just think they were a little more ready to play than us.”

The Arsenault tandem led the way for the Jets, as Bree Arsenault scored 17 points and Andie Arsenault chipped in with 16.

“It’s nice to have eight players that all can play,” Vincent said. “Everyone gets a rest. It was a great team effort all the way around and I’m proud of every one of them. We played great team defense and hustled well. We also only had 8 turnovers which is probably a record for us.”

Like the Arsenault tandem, the Englund tandem was cooking for the Wolverines. Kennedy Englund led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Daisy Englund had 12 points and six rebounds.

“Daisy and Kennedy both did really good,” Croasdell said. “They hit their shots but they didn’t really have any other support. Normally the other players hit those shots — it might have been first game jitters because normally we don’t get out shot.

“I also want to give credit to Chevy Koski for doing a great job on Chloe Wells in the first half, holding her to two points. She (Wells) was one of my main concerns coming in.”

The North Central jayvee team defeated Mid Pen 59-23.

Mid Pen is at Republic-Michigamme Friday, while North Central visits Stephenson Tuesday.

North Central 4 20 16 14 — 54

Mid Peninsula 7 8 7 14 — 36

NORTH CENTRAL (54): B. Arsenault 17, A. Arsenault 16, Wells 10, Smith 6, Linder 3, Neville 2. FT: 5-7. F: 14 (Linder). 3PT: B. Arsenault 2, A. Arsenault. FG: 23-59.

MID PENINSULA (36): K. Englund 20, D. Englund 12, Derocher 2, Lancour 2. F: 9. FT: 4-7. 3PT: K. Englund 5, D. Englund. FG: 13-50.