POWERS — Timely 3-point shooting and stout pressure defense helped North Central’s cause here Thursday night in a 55-34 girls’ basketball victory over the Stephenson Eagles.

The Jets sank 10 trifectas while improving to 1-1 overall and in the Skyline Central Conference.

“We played much better defense than we did Monday night (in a 60-29 loss to Carney-Nadeau),” said Jets’ coach Pete Schlenvogt. “We were definitely more relaxed tonight. Our 3-pointers came at a good time and those came from good passes to open players.”

Stephenson was within 23-19 following a five-foot set shot by senior Paige Cappaert with six minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

North Central sophomore Ashtyn Smith then split a pair of free throws, and classmate Zoe LaBonte gave the Jets a 27-19 cushion on a set shot from top of the key.

The Eagles (0-2 league and overall) came within 27-22 on a layup by Cappaert midway through the second.

Freshman Gracie Kleikamp then gave the Jets a 30-22 lead on a 20-foot set shot, and senior Andie Arsenault added fast-break and underhanded layups for a 34-22 cushion.

The Jets extended their lead to 44-28 by the end of the third.

Stephenson, with just six players on its roster, got no closer than 13 points through the remainder of the contest.

“We had two players under the weather, which didn’t help, but they’ll come back,” said Eagles’ coach Missy Wangerin. “Their pressure wore us down. Three games a week is a lot, although we’ll have to conquer that as we go. Our girls ran out of juice a little. We need to work on our rebounding. We have to crash the boards.”

North Central took a 13-8 lead on a floater by Arsenault late in the opening frame and extended its cushion to 16-8 on her 21-foot jumper from the left wing to start the second.

The Eagles were within 21-17 following a 20-foot set shot by senior Peyton Cole with 40 seconds left in the second stanza.

North Central led 23-17 at the intermission.

“The girls got a chance to see that everything works,” said Schlenvogt. “The kids are good shooters, and tonight they hit some shots early and were able to get some confidence. We also had some nice ball movement and flushed them out of their zone for a while. We were able to watch some film on their game at Bark River-Harris (in a 54-42 loss), and that helped. The girls had fun playing in front of their friends and families tonight.”

Arsenault led the Jets with 19 points, and Kleikamp, whose first seven field goals came from 3-point range this season, finished with 13 points Thursday. Senior Morgan Anderson paced the Eagles with nine.

The Jets committed 10 turnovers, including just two in the second half. The Eagles ended with 19 miscues.

“For Gracie to shoot like that as a freshman is huge,” said Schlenvogt. “Offensively, we forced some things in the first half. Then, we cleaned it up in the second half. You’re going to win a lot of games when you have 10 turnovers.”

The Jets host North Dickinson Monday. The Eagles visit Norway Saturday.

Stephenson 8 9 11 6 — 34

North Central 13 10 21 10 — 55

Stephenson — A. Cappaert 5, P. Cappaert 6, Paidl 2, Havelka 6, Cole 6, Anderson 9. FT: 5-18; F: 7: Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Cole 2, A. Cappaert.

North Central — Burton 9, Neuens 3, Kleikamp 13, Arsenault 19, Smith 1, LaBonte 8, LaCoursier 2. FT: 3-10; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Kleikamp 3, Arsenault 2, LaBonte 2, Burton 2, Neuens.