After a sluggish first half, the West Iron County Wykons came out firing in the third quarter with 20 points on their way to a 51-43 nonconference girls basketball win over host Escanaba on Wednesday night.

Senior guard Lily De Sousa scored seven of her game-high 22 points in the key period as the Wykons (2-1) overcame a 23-18 halftime deficit to take a 38-33 lead into the fourth.

“Lily kept us in the game with her scoring,” WIC coach Eric Shamion said. “Glad we got the win going into the holiday break, but we had too many turnovers (and) we need to be more aggressive on both ends of the court.”

Junior guard Cami Alexa and senior post Laurel Johnson added four each in the third quarter for the Wykons, while Bristol Shamion contributed two and Erianna Sucholl and Grace Smith chipped in with a free throw each.

“Laurel and Cami played well in the second half,” coach Shamion said.

The Eskymos (0-3) trailed 12-8 after the opening eight minutes but Lily VanDamme and Landry Bray recorded five points apiece in the second quarter and Susie Moberg posted four as the hosts outscored WIC 15-6 to grab the lead at halftime.

Bray tallied 10 of her team-best 19 points in the fourth quarter as Esky attempted to come back, but Shamion notched five points, De Sousa and Sucholl scored three each and Johnson added a bucket as the Wykons fended off the Eskymos.

Escanaba struggled at the foul line, sinking just 11 of 32 (34%) as the Wykons battled foul trouble most of the game. On the other hand, West Iron connected on 14 of 21 free throws (67%).

The Wykons are off until Jan. 6 when they travel to Negaunee.

WEST IRON COUNTY – B. Shamion 3 1-1 7, De Sousa 6 9-13 22, Alexa 2 0-0 4, Sucholl 1 2-3 4, Smith 0 0-1 1, Erickson 2 0-0 4, Johnson 4 1-2 9. Totals: 18 14-21 51. 3-point field goals: 1 (De Sousa).

ESCANABA – Beauchamp 1 1-8 3, VanDamme 2 0-3 5, Moberg 5 4-12 14, Bray 7 4-7 19, Mylander 0 2-2 2. Totals: 15 11-32 43. 3-point field goals: 2 (VanDamme, Bray).