MANISTIQUE — A dominant first half propelled the Manistique girls to their third win in five games here Thursday, as the Emeralds ran past Iron Mountain 53-38 in a Mid-Peninsula Conference basketball tilt.

The Emeralds led 14-6 after the first quarter and 30-9 at halftime.

“That first half was something,” Emeralds coach Dave Winkel said. “We pretty much executed our game plan to a T in that whole entire first half. I thought the girls played extremely focused and with lots of energy. Most of that came from our defense. It’s nice when you can use your defense and turn it into offense, and that’s kind of what built that halftime lead.”

The Emeralds (5-11, 2-7 M-PC) had little trouble holding that lead in the second half, building a 46-22 cushion at the end of the third quarter.

“We’re definitely trending in the right direction, which is what you want as the season gets to the end here,” Winkel said. “This is the best five-game stretch we’ve played in several years. Even in the Gladstone and Gwinn losses (52-44 and 57-42) we were competitive; those weren’t blowouts. We’re just more competitive on a consistent basis, which is what I like. You can definitely see the team beginning to grow and the light bulbs are starting to come on.”

Emilee McDaniel led Manistique with 14 points and seven blocked shots, while Brooke Richey and Olivia Kingren each added nine points.

The Mountaineers (1-13, 0-7 M-PC) were led by Tori Sorenson with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Claire Mongrain added 12 points and five steals.

Manistique shot 23 for 50 from the field for nearly 50%, grabbed 24 rebounds and committed 16 turnovers. Iron Mountain was just 15 for 61 from the field, had 29 rebounds and 15 miscues.

The Emeralds, who dropped the JV game 41-25, host Rapid River Tuesday.

Iron Mountain 6 3 13 16 — 38

Manistique 14 16 16 7 — 53

Iron Mountain — Mongrain 12, Sardina 7, Powell 6, Sorensen 13. FT: 6-14; F: 9; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: Mongrain 2.

Manistique — Twardokus 2, Zellar 4, Richey 9, Barker 3, Fleck 4, McDaniel 14, Kingren 9, Muth 2, St. John 6. FT: 6-12; F: 15; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goal: Richey.