Matt McCarthy | Iron Mountain Daily News photo Superior Central junior Riley Johnson (22) dribbles out of the corner, as North Dickinson's Micah Lindholm defends, in a Skyline Central Conference girls basketball game Monday night at the Carl F. Lemin Jr. Gymnasium in Felch.

FELCH TOWNSHIP — A swarming defense that caused several turnovers, and outside sharp shooting from Chrislyn Inglese and Ashton Hord, was too much for Superior Central to handle as North Dickinson powered past the Cougars 59-30 in Skyline Central Conference girls basketball action Monday night at the Carl F. Lemin Jr. Gymnasium.

Inglese and Hord each netted 16 points and drained four trifectas for the Nordics, who completed their regular season with the win, improving to 9-5 (8-5 SCC).

“Our focus was to come out fast tonight and continue the momentum we’ve been building the last

six games,” said Nordics head coach Kirk Mattson. “I thought our defense was very good tonight. The girls had very active hands. It set the tone for the game, and we also played very unselfish.”

Mattson noted that the Nordics totaled 16 team assists, which he stated was to his liking.

“Everybody got some good playing time tonight, and come tournament time, that will be helpful for the girls to have some floor experience,” Mattson added. “Overall, I am very happy with our performance tonight.”

The Cougars struggled for the vast majority of the game with turning the ball over.

“We’ve been in a funk lately. We struggle with fundamentals,” said Superior Central head coach Skip Rutter. “Johnson had a great game. Her (Johnson) and Rutter have (led) our team offensively all year.”

The defeat was Superior Central’s fourth loss in a row and their seventh in their last eight games.

“We’ve struggled lately, and also tonight, breaking down our opponent’s defense. We better correct it soon, with tournaments coming up, and we need a lot of work,” Rutter said.

The Cougars have a bye in their MHSAA Divison 4 District tournament bracket, as they will take on the winner of the Big Bay de Noc at Munising game, at Munising on Mar. 24.

The Nordics will also be off until Mar. 24, as they also have a bye in the first round of the MHSAA Division 4 Districts. ND will face the winner of Monday’s Republic-Michigamme at the North Central game.

The Nordics are the number two seed in their District, while undefeated Carney-Nadeau is the No. 1 seed. However, the bracket placement favors the Nordics, where they’d host the District Finals on Mar. 26 with a win two nights prior.

“If we’re fortunate enough to host the Districts, I’d like to think it’s a new season and everyone has a chance,” Mattson stated. “With the way we’ve been playing, especially on defense, I think we’ve got a shot.”

Superior Central, who won the JV game, slip to 2-10 (2-10 SCC) return home to host SCC foe North Central in a varsity only matchup at 6:30 p.m. Central on Thursday night.

Superior Central 6 9 3 12 — 30

North Dickinson 15 17 16 11 — 59

Superior Central — Charlebois 2, Augustyn 6, Johnson 15, Tyner 5, Rondeau 2; FT: 10-14; F: 10; Fouled Out: None; 3-point FG: Augustyn, Tyner.

North Dickinson — V. Lindholm 8, Cary 2, Inglese 16, Ashton Hord 16, M. Lindholm 11, Schultz 4, Reimer 2; FT: 1-4; F: 12; Fouled Out: None; 3-point FG: Inglese 4, Hord 4.