Of course, when the Mountaineers and the Flivvers get together, the natural rivalrous emotions get stirred up anyway. Plus, coach Karen Ellis’ squad wanted revenge for its 18-point defeat to the Flivvers in late December and received more motivation from a pep rally at school earlier in the day.

“The girls ahead of time just decided they were going to come out there and give 200 percent,” Ellis said. “And the energy in the locker room beforehand. … The girls just came together and they wanted this win so bad.”

With that approach, the Mountaineers were ready from the outset. Then 2 1/2 minutes into the game, Kingsford lost its leader — senior point guard Talia Wallis — to an ankle injury and Flivvers struggled from there.

What wasn’t apparent until the second half was that the Mountaineers (6-12) were on their way to a rout of their neighbors. Iron Mountain outscored Kingsford 37-8 over the final 16 minutes to wind up with its highest point total of the season.

Iron Mountain senior forward Annslee Runsat (22) rises above Kingsford’s Zoie Geronimi (22) and Erika Malone (20) for a shot during the Mountaineers’ 63-28 victory over the rival Flivvers on Thursday at Mountaineer Gym. Runsat played a terrific all-around game and led all scorers with 19 points.

“I know if Wallis hadn’t gotten injured, it would have been a really good game, but our girls were so determined, I can imagine we would have had this win anyway,” Ellis said.

She had a reason to feel that way. Her team was lively from the tip-off and her players’ confidence increased throughout the game. Senior forward Annslee Runsat was a prime example of that, scoring a game-high 19 points, handing out numerous assists and controlling the backboards with her teammates.

“We knew we had to bring it tonight, and we had to really work the ball around and play as a team,” said Runsat, the lone senior on the Mountaineer squad. “They were kind of scattered because Talia is one of their better players and their main contributor.”

Ellis spoke of Runsat’s ability to, from time to time, dominate a game.

“Annslee’s been off and on this season because she’s had some trouble with her knees, but when she puts her mind to it, she does it,” Ellis said. “And she showed her leadership skills tonight that we’ve been counting on for the last four years.”

Iron Mountain 6-foot junior Anja Kleiman played the top of her team’s 3-2 zone against Kingsford on Thursday night. Kleiman, with her length, caused some disruption to the Flivvers’ zone attack.

(Continued on 6-B)

Runsat started the game with a 3-pointer and then added another hoop off a drive. Junior guard Emma Ellis then nailed a 3-pointer to go with a pair of hoops by junior Chloe Maycroft to give Iron Mountain a six-point lead after the first quarter.

The Flivvers (7-10) played well in the second period to stay within 26-20 at halftime. Junior Elaina Bortolini, senior Allie LaVarnway and senior Paige Olsen all sank triples to keep their team close.

But Kingsford fell off the pace in the third quarter, recording only four points. Meanwhile, Iron Mountain rolled up 19 and led 45-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

Flivvers coach Jon Lorenzoni didn’t want to pin the result only on Wallis’ absence.

Kingsford junior Erika Malone looks to initiate her team’s offense against host Iron Mountain in Thursday’s non-conference battle, which was won by the Mountaineers 63-28.

“Obviously it’s a huge loss when you lose your senior leader and your point guard, your best scorer,” he said. “I thought we were like deer in the headlights there for awhile. We didn’t come together and regroup as well as I thought we should have.

“But the bottom line is, I give credit to Iron Mountain, I thought they outworked us tonight, I thought they got every 50-50 ball, I thought they pounded us on the glass and they had second opportunities, third opportunities. We just didn’t do that tonight.”

With Runsat sitting out for a stint when her knee started to act up, Ellison Powell stepped in and hit two triples, while Ashlyn Bal sank another. Additionally, Maycroft scored two buckets and the Mountaineers were firing on all cylinders offensively.

With the victory, Iron Mountain has won four of its last seven games, and much of that improvement can be attributed to better offense. Prior to the recent stretch, the Mountaineers were averaging 37.3 points per game. In the last seven, they are scoring 48.4 points per game.

“I’ve done some rearranging with the girls and they’ve been getting more comfortable each week with the offense that we’ve been running,” Coach Ellis said. “But now they’re settling into their roles and they’re finally embracing them and just lifting each other up and communicating really well.”

Powell finished with 15 points and Maycroft added 14.

Bortolini led the Flivvers with six points.

Lorenzoni said his team needs to move on from the loss.

“That was one that we’re going to wipe out of our memories as fast as we can,” he said. “I know it’s easier said than done. but we’ve got to just forget about this one tonight. We’ve got to get back to work (in practice) on Sunday.”

Jerry DeRoche can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 244, or at jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.