Bronco Defense Strong In 68-52 Win Over Eskymos

ESCANABA---The Bark River-Harris High School girls basketball team jumped to a 15-2 lead and then held off a couple of Escanaba runs and posted a 68-52 win over the Eskymos. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.

Bark River-Harris forced several turnovers early in the game to race out to that big lead, as the Eskymos had trouble even getting off a shot.

Escanaba still trailed, 17-7, after the first quarter, and made only two field goals in the first eight minutes of play.

But in the second quarter, the Eskymos got back into the game, outscoring the suddenly cold Broncos, 9-1, to close to within 18-16 with five minutes left in the first half. The Broncos got it going again offensively, however, with several girls chipping in.

BR-H outscored Escanaba, 23-8, the rest of the half, to take a 41-24 lead at the break.

The third quarter, however, belonged to the Eskymos. They outscored the Broncos, 21-11, to close to within seven points entering the fourth quarter.

BR-H clamped down again on defense in the final quarter, allowing just seven Escanaba points the rest of the way.

Escanaba's offense was hampered by Haile Waters fouling out with five minutes left in the contest. She led the Eskymos in scoring with 21 points. Maddy Willis scored 14 points for Escanaba.

The Eskymos fell to 2-6 on the season while BR-H improved to 7-0. The Broncos were led in scoring by Kelsey Bouchor with 19 points and Allissa Willa added 17. Katie Schultz and Megan Robinette both had eight points and Paige Welch scored seven.

It was the second time in as many days that a Class B Great Northern Conference team lost to a Class D Central/Skyline team. North Central upended Menominee Tuesday.

Escanaba topped Bark River-Harris in the junior varsity game, 68-56.

Escanaba hosts Gladstone on Friday, while BR-H will host Carney-Nadeau.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS above to see photos and videos taken during Wednesday night's game.