ESCANABA — A slow start hurt Escanaba’s chances here Monday night in a 68-36 basketball loss to the Kingsford Flivvers.

Esky, which turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter, trailed 25-6 eight minutes into this Great Northern Conference match-up.

“That’s been kind of our theme,” Esky coach Tracy Hudson said. “The first quarter has been kind of a nightmare and we’re trying to solve that. They had a good ball defender (sophomore guard Aubrie Moore) which really hurt us in the first quarter. We’ve been having trouble handling the pressure early in the game, then we seem to settle down and do a little better.”

Moore opened the second stanza with a 15-foot jump shot, which gave the Flivvers a 21-point cushion, then added layups on back-to-back steals for a 34-8 cushion three minutes later.

The Flivvers extended their lead to 45-14 on a jumper from inside the free throw circle by sophomore Avery Edwards with 2:01 left in the second frame.

Esky then closed the second with a 5-0 run, trimming its deficit to 45-19 on a 20-foot set shot by senior Lily VanDamme.

Sophomore Mara Anderson drained a 20-foot jumper from the right wing to shave Esky’s deficit to 45-22 to begin the third quarter.

Kingsford, however, didn’t allow the Eskymos to get any closer.

The Flivvers took a quick 7-0 lead and extended to 18-4 on a layup by Moore with 2:06 remaining in the opening frame.

“We struggled with Calumet last week (in a 39-37 road victory),” Kingsford coach Mike Cross said. “We wanted to come out with intensity and score early. I liked our balance. We had scoring across the board. The girls were looking to score and they did a nice job.”

Kingsford scored four in double digits, led by Moore who scored 21 of her 23 points in the first half. Senior Cassie Olson tallied 13. Junior Alyvia Kowalski hit 11 and Edwards finished with 10.

“Aubrie is such a nice player,” Cross said. “She’s so steady for us. We knew they were going to line up in their 1-3-1. Our goal was to get the ball down low. I thought Avery put good pressure on them.”

Anderson was Esky’s scoring leader with 11 points. Senior Susie Moberg added eight points and three steals. Classmate Landry Bray also had eight points.

The Eskymos finished with 27 turnovers and the Flivvers had 12.

“Aubrie is such a ballhawk,” Hudson said. “She really hurt us in the first half and Kowalski did a great job getting to the basket. We need to take care of the ball and rebound better. Although, I was happy with our aggressiveness. We just have to stay positive and get better.”

Kingsford (5-2 overall, 3-1 GNC) hosts Menominee on Thursday.

Kingsford 25 20 8 15 — 68

Escanaba 6 13 9 8 — 36

Kingsford — Shaughnessy 1, Moore 23, Kowalski 11, Sleik 6. Edwards 10, Olson 13, Normand 4. FT: 4-11; F: 8; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Moore 2, Sleik.

Escanaba — Beauchamp 2, VanDamme 3, Moberg 8, Bray 8, Mylander 2, Stahlboerger 2, Anderson 11. FT: 2-4; F: 10; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Moberg, Anderson.