Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba’s Keira Maki (12) recovers a loose ball knocked away from Marquette’s Ella JeZewski (center) by teammate Mari Bink (right) Tuesday in Escanaba during the 2021-22 season opener.

ESCANABA — The Marquette girls became frequent visitors to the free throw line here Tuesday night as they handed Escanaba a season-opening 51-36 basketball loss.

Marquette sank 23-of-32 free throws in this physical Great Northern Conference match-up, including 12-of-16 in the first half. The Eskymos were 8-of-18 from the charity stripe.

“I thought we played real hard,” said Marquette coach Ben Smith. “I liked our aggressiveness getting to the rim. It’s one thing to get to the line, but you have to cash in. I thought our girls did a pretty good job with that.”

Esky was within 35-30 following an eight-foot jump shot by sophomore guard Kiera Maki 23 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Eskymos, however, were unable to get any closer as the Redettes gained their first double-digit lead (42-31) on a lay-in by senior forward Maria Milado with five minutes, 10 seconds remaining.

“We missed Nicole Kamin (current Grand Valley State cager) tonight,” said Esky coach Mike Beveridge. “We’re trying to find our identity. I thought (junior) Bailey Barron did a nice job running the point. When we got close, we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. I think Marquette grew quicker and played better in the second half.”

Marquette took a 24-17 lead on a pair of free throws by Millado with 1:45 left in the second quarter.

Senior forward Madison Monkevich drained a 20-foot jumper from the left wing to bring the Eskymos within four points, and Bink got a steal and fast break 25 seconds before halftime to make it 24-22.

Marquette responded early in the third with senior guard Zoe Smith hitting a layup and junior guard Siena Lingle adding a steal and layup for a 28-22 cushion.

The Eskymos came within 29-24 on a lay-in by Barron with 3:15 left in the third.

Marquette, however, bumped its lead back up to 35-26 on a pair of gifters by junior center Meghan MacPhee at 1:05.

“We knew they were young, but they’re athletic,” said coach Smith. “We’re also inexperienced. Few of our girls played just one (Division 1) district game last year. We were able to track down a lot of loose balls, which helped us finish plays on offense.

“I thought we did a good job handling our nerves. This was the first of many opportunities to take inventory of where we need to get better.”

The teams combined for 48 turnovers and 39 fouls. Esky finished with 26 miscues.

“In the first game, you often have a lot of turnovers,” said Beveridge. “I thought the defense was intense on both sides and probably had an effect on some of those. Only, we’ve got to make improvements for our second game (Friday at Sault Ste. Marie). I’m proud of the effort. The girls played hard, but we have some work to do. We need to work on taking care of the ball.”

Millado led the Redettes with 18 points and MacPhee, who sank 10-of-12 free throws, added 12. Maki led the Eskymos with 11, and Bink had 10.

Marquette travels to Petoskey for a pair of games this weekend.

The Esky JV won 50-30.

Marquette 16 8 11 21 — 51

Escanaba 7 15 6 8 — 36

Marquette — Lorens 2, Ott 2, Holder 5, Millado 18, Saunders 2, Smith 2, Lingle 2, Jezewski 1, Anderson 3, MacPhee 12, Brazeau 2. FT: 23-32; F: 18; Fouled out: None.

Escanaba — Barron 5, Monkevich 6, Maki 11, Stalboerger 2, Bink 10, LaMarche 2. FT: 8-18; F: 21; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Monkevich, Bink.