Austin Hemmingson/Escanaba Daily Press photo North Dickinson’s Briana Smith drives against Carney-Nadeau’s Kristin Charlier duringa game in Carney on Feb 27.

CARNEY — The Carney-Nadeau girls had everything going for them.

They were riding a 14-game winning streak, on their home floor, leading North Dickinson 16-4 at the end of the first quarter and had a Skyline Central Conference basketball title within their grasp.

Then, the Nordics switched to a man-to-man defense and ratcheted up their intensity, and the game changed in an instant as they went on for a 56-44 victory to complete a perfect 16-0 season in the conference and capture the conference title.

“It means a lot,” Nordics coach Kirk Mattson said. “It’s been a long time … I think 2010 was the last time we won a conference or district title, so it’s been a long time. This senior group of girls really worked hard these last four years. They earned it and I couldn’t be happier for them.”

The U.P.’s fourth-ranked Nordics (18-2 overall) came out in a 2-3 zone in the first quarter, and the Wolves (16-4, 14-4 SC) had all the answers, utilizing their size to start the game on an 11-2 run and building a 16-4 lead.

But once the Nordics went to a man-to-man defense, everything changed.

“They went man-to-man and things went the other way,” C-N coach Ken Linder said. “We were prepared for the zone, we had a good game plan for it, and we executed it really well to start the game. I couldn’t have asked for a better first quarter.

“But then (coach Mattson) went man — which was a smart decision — and we just didn’t respond well. That was basically the game right there. We didn’t respond well, and by the time we got ourselves together it was too late.”

The Nordics outscored the Wolves 16-6 in the second quarter as senior point guard Briana Smith started to take over the game, but the Wolves still held a 22-20 halftime lead.

That didn’t last long, as the Nordics started the second half with a fullcourt press and scored seven unanswered points in the first 41 seconds to take a five-point lead. The avalanche had just begun, as they scored a mind-boggling 32 points in the quarter to take a commanding 52-30 lead into the fourth.

“It’s a whole team effort,” Mattson said. “The whole team played fantastic. It’s a hard place to play. With the conference (title) on the line, I couldn’t be happier for the girls and our school.”

The Wolves played better in the fourth to make the score a little more respectable, but it was far too late.

“I still felt pretty good at half. I thought we could keep things going, but we just didn’t gather ourselves and it was just too late,” Linder said. “Sandra (Boulton) struggled, and that didn’t help.”

Smith led the Nordics with a game-high 21 points, while Kassandra Cary and Ashton Hord each chipped in 12.

Tessa Wagner led the Wolves with 15 points, while Boulton was limited to eight and held in single digits for the first time since Jan. 3 and just the third time all year.

“I thought we did nice a job against Sandra,” Mattson said. “She’s a heck of a player, and our (goal) was to shut her down as much as we could. You’re not going to shut her down completely, but we did a good job and I think limiting her really helped us out. We got some confidence.”

Each team is the favorite on its side of the bracket entering next week’s Division 4 district, so Linder knows they could meet again in Carney for the district title March 6.

“If we’re going to lose one, this was the one to lose,” he said. “With six minutes to go in the fourth quarter I just said to the girls, ‘Let’s settle down, this game is basically over.’ I just wanted them to loosen up and stop pressing. I said, ‘Let’s just win these last six minutes,’ and we did that. We’ll watch the tape, see what we can do to exploit their man just like we did their zone, and hopefully, we can find a way to do that. That’s about all we can do.”

The Wolves won the JV game 52-19.

Carney hosts arch-rival North Central in its district opener Monday, while the Nordics visit Republic-Michigamme in their opener.

ND 4 16 32 4 — 56

Car-Nad 16 6 8 14 — 44

North Dickinson: Smith 21, Cary 12, Hord 12, Lindholm 3, Ledzian 8. FT: 13-24; F: 14; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: Cary 3, Hord 2.

Carney-Nadeau: Boulton 8, Wagner 15, Kedsch 3, Thoune 2, Laurila 5, Poupore 7, Charlier 4. FT: 6-13; F: 18; Fouled out: Poupore. 3-point field goals: Laurila, Kedsch.