EBEN — Mid Peninsula’s girls gained the upper hand in the second half here Monday night, opening their basketball season with a hard-fought 48-38 triumph over the Superior Central Cougars.

The contest was tied at 23 at halftime before the Wolverines took a 37-32 lead after the third quarter.

“It was a tough game,” said Mid Pen coach Phil Croasdell. “It was definitely an old-fashioned Mid-Pen-Superior Central battle. Their junior class has a lot of good athletes. We were playing with seven, and they were playing with six. Both teams ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.

“We’re just glad we’re playing again because it gave us a sense of normalcy. Playing a whole season of volleyball probably helped. As far as playing with masks, the girls were fine with it.”

Landry Koski led Mid Pen with 18 points and five steals. Daisy Englund added 17 points, and Allyson Lancour had eight points and 10 rebounds. Riley Johnson paced the Cougars with 15 points, and Emma Rutter had 14.

“We expected to have good games from our three veterans, and they did that,” said Croasdell. “Daisy scored nine points in the first quarter to set the pace, and it opened things up for Landry. Ally got some good rebounds and did a heck of a job guarding Emma Rutter, and Landry did a great job on Riley Johnson.”

The Cougars, who won the JV game 44-29, host Bark River-Harris Thursday. The Wolverines travel to Engadine Thursday.

Mid Peninsula 14 9 14 11 — 48

Superior Central 13 10 9 6 — 38

Mid Peninsula — Johnson 2, Englund 17, Koski 18, Lampinen 3, Lancour 8. FT: 6-7; F: 9; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Englund, Lampinen.

Superior Central — Charlebois 5, Augustyn 2, Rutter 14, Johnson 15, Tyner 2. FT: 7-12; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goal: Charlebois.