Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba’s Mari Bink (32) drives against Menominee’s Makenzie Wellner (right) Friday at Escanaba.

ESCANABA — It was an even contest between the Escanaba and Menominee girls Friday until the Maroons shook off their first game rust and overtook the Eskymos 53-46 in the fourth quarter at Escanaba.

“I thought we finally got into the groove where we needed to go defensively,” Maroons coach Lucas Chouinard said. “We were kind of not our typical team the first three quarters, and I thought we really picked up the intensity.”

It was tied at 36 entering the fourth quarter, and Esky’s Carney Salo hit a trey 34 seconds in to pull ahead.

“We were in a good position,” Esky coach Mike Beveridge said. “Then, they came down and made a couple 3’s, and we didn’t execute real well or get good shots off. (That’s) something we’ll work on, but my girls played hard the whole game.”

Then, Menominee’s (1-0 all) Kennedy Olson went one-for-two from the charity stripe, and Emma Anderson hit a layup to tie it at 39 with 6:40 remaining.

Less than a minute later, the Maroons’ Mackenzie Wellner put one back to take a 41-39 lead.

Esky’s Nicole Kamin tied it back up shortly after, but — with 3:32 remaining — Menominee’s Erin Barrette dropped a triple in from the edge.

Less than 30 seconds later, Wellner earned a three-point play, and the Eskymos (1-1 all) found themselves down 47-41.

“We’re moving our feet better,” Chouinard said. “We were getting to the spots where we needed to be, and we were diving on the floor getting those fifty-fifty balls. “We were very active, which is what we’ve prided ourselves on in previous years.”

With the Eskymos in possession, and a little more than a minute on the clock, a collision allowed Olson the steal, and Esky began intentionally fouling.

However, the Maroons were up to the task, and they went six-for-six from the line to seal the game despite a triple from Escanaba’s Mari Bink and another bucket from Kamin.

The two teams stayed within striking distance for the majority of the game, except for the second quarter where the Maroons pulled ahead 17-11 halfway through but were hampered by a trey from Esky’s Bailey Barron and four points from Salo.

“(I was happy with) mainly our defense and effort,” Beveridge said. “We’re in the right spot doing the right things defensively, but we’ve got to take care of the ball a little bit and take better shots.”

At the end of the third quarter, the Maroons sank more 3’s than 2’s (four to three), and the Eskymos were sinking 3’s of their own as the quarter trailed off to make it a true triple battle.

“My game plan was to keep the score low because if I kept them in the 50s, we would be in the game,” Beveridge said. “Last year, they had 70 (something), and I didn’t want it this year. So, I was pleased with our defense keeping them down to 53 points. I’m pleased with the effort and how well we played. It’s just fine-tuning some things now.”

Kamin led the Eskymos with 18 and is only 18 points away from earning 1,000 career points. Salo followed with 15, and Bink collected 10.

The Maroons were led by Anderson with 18 and Barrette with 15.

Escanaba hosts Gladstone Monday in a rematch of last season’s district title game, and Menominee visits Kingsford Monday.

“That’s always a big game,” Beveridge said. “The girls know each other really well, and we beat him for the district last year. That’s probably going to be on their mind, and it’s going to be on our mind because I’m going to remind my girls.”

Menominee 9 9 18 17 — 53

Escanaba 9 13 14 10 — 46

Menominee — Anderson 18, Barrette 15, Wickstrom 8, Nerat 5, Nolde 4, Hofer 2, Olson 1; F: 11; Fouled out: none; FT: 11-15; 3-point field goals: Barrette 4, Anderosn 3, Nerat 1.

Escanaba — Kamin 18, Salo 15, Bink 10, Barron 3; F: 15; Fouled out: none; FT: 5-10; 3-point field goals: Salo 2, Bink 2, Barron 1.