Local Sports

Norway, coach start season with victory

NORWAY -- It was a win-win for the host Norway Knights girls varsity basketball team on Thursday night.

Not only did the Knights (1-0) clobber visiting Stephenson 47-24 in their season-opener, it was also the first win for first-year varsity head coach Brian Adams, who took over the team from former coach Joe Tinti.

"I've been with the seniors for three years now," Adams said. "I coached them on JV their sophomore year and then was the varsity assistant last year."

And the Knights' carried out their coach's game plan to near perfection against the visiting Eagles (0-2), using a smothering defensive press to cause numerous turnovers. That included Norway jumping out to an 18-0 lead in the first quarter.

"We want have the ability to play multiple ways during a game," Adams said. "This group hasn't pressed much. With it being new to them, we wanted to spend a lot of time on it last night.

"We forced 48 turnovers which obviously I'm really happy with," he added. "My expectation for last night was simply for them to fly around the court and pressure everything."

Norway led at halftime 28-13 with the Eagles never able to mount a true rally against the Norway pressure.

Taylor Adams paced the victorious Knights with 15 points, with Andi Carlson also hitting double figures with 10 points.

Also scoring for Norway were Lauren Adams with 9 points, Hannah Burklund with 6 points, Jada Freudinger with four points and Sarah Tinkey with three points.

LADYCATS 50, HORNETS 15

ELCHO, Wis. -- Isabella Millan hit for 24 points to lead the visiting Florence Ladycats to a 50-15 victory over the Elcho Hornets in girls varsity action Thursday night.

But, Millan's biggest points might be those she hasn't scored -- yet. The junior cager is just five points from hitting the 1,000 mark for her high school career.

But, the milestone will have to wait till at least Tuesday, when Florence hosts Tomahawk at 7:15 p.m.

Despite the large margin of victory, Millan was Florence's only hoopster to reach double figures in scoring, while also chipping in five rebounds and a steal.

"Elcho was shorthanded," said Florence coach Brad Perry. "They only had five players."

Florence (3-1) not only took advantage of the difference in depth on the scoreboard, but also to get some of the team's younger players time on the court with a total of 10 players see action against the Hornets (1-4).

Morgan Tomczak chipped in eight points, two rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in the win, while Kamdan Johnson handed out a team-high seven assists to go with seven points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

"(And) we had only nine turnovers," Perry said. "We did a good job of taking care of the ball."

Perry also praised his team's effort on the glass, with the Ladycats grabbing a total of 55 rebounds. Victoria Peterson led the way with 13 boards, as well as helping out with four points, three steals and one assist.

Other contributors for Florence included Hannah Holdaway with five points, seven rebounds and two steals; and Ashley Peterson with two points, two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot.

COPPER KINGS 76, MOUNTAINEERS 42

CALUMET -- The Iron Mountain Mountaineers hung with host Calumet for a half in both team's season opener Thursday, but the Copper Kings exploded for 32 points in the third quarter and went on to defeat the Mountaineers 76-42 in a West Pac Conference matchup.

Calumet, a pressing, running team with good perimeter shooters, scored 25 points in the first quarter to take a 14-point lead, but the Mountaineers battled to a 16-all draw in the second quarter to stay within 14 at the break.

In the third quarter, Iron Mountain lost starting guard Emma Ellis to injury and starting post Anja Kleiman to foul trouble and the Copper Kings took advantage to build a 73-33 lead after three.

"Tonight was a battle from the start like we knew it would be," IM coach Karen Ellis said. "I thought we ran both ends of the court well in the first half. In the third quarter, ... Calumet capitalized on (the injury and foul trouble) and forced several turnovers which we couldn't come back from."

Iron Mountain was led in scoring by senior Ellison Powell, who tallied 12 points. Kleiman added nine, Ellis finished with eight and Callie Bianco scored seven.

Laina Kariniemi led three double-digit scorers for Calumet with 24 points.

"I saw a lot of good things tonight and of course some things to tweak," Coach Ellis added.