ESCANABA — A defensive change helped the Escanaba girls turn the tide here Friday night in a hard-fought 52-44 basketball victory over the Bark River-Harris Broncos.

Esky used a variety of defenses in this non-conference contest before going to a 2-3 zone in the third quarter.

Senior Tressa Ives split a pair of free throws, which gave BR-H a 26-23 lead midway through the third.

Following a time-out, the Eskymos went on an 8-0 run, taking a 31-26 lead on a fast break layup by junior guard Mari Bink with two minutes, 10 seconds left in the third.

“They came out hot in the third quarter, and we re-adjusted our defense,” said Esky coach Mike Beveridge. “That helped get the momentum back in our favor and got us more into a flow on offense. The 2-3 zone kind of shut down their flow and got us going. We had good fan support, and everybody got to play. This was a tough game. They never quit.”

The Eskymos improved to 6-5 with their third straight win. The Broncos are 6-4.

“We played good tonight,” said BR-H coach Mike Richer. “We got the lead, then we hit a stretch where we turned the ball over 3-4 times in a row. We knew they were going to switch defenses and really tried to work the ball down low. They’re so physical. It’s hard to match up with them. I think their height wore us down in the end.”

Sophomore guard Keira Maki gave Esky a 37-29 cushion on a fast break layup, set up on a steal and pass by senior forward Madison Monkevich 40 seconds into the fourth frame.

The Broncos were within 37-33 nearly two minutes into the fourth before the Eskymos extended their lead to 44-33 on a steal and layup by Maki with 5:42 remaining.

Another fast break layup by Maki put Esky ahead 48-35 with three minutes to go.

BR-H answered with a 7-0 run, shaving its deficit to 48-42 on a set shot by a set shot from top of the key by senior Cara Zawada. By then, however, only 30 seconds remained.

“We tried to make them shoot from outside, but Bink got away for a few baskets on us,” said Richer. “We subbed, we didn’t pick her up. Lot of times, we have 4-5 guards on the floor, and they were good about crashing the boards. Their 2-3 zone was a big factor in deciding the game. They have so much length. They’re tall and fast. We had trouble getting shots off.”

Esky led 9-5 after the first quarter, but the Broncos drew within 12-11 on a 12-foot set shot from the left baseline by senior Aspen Fredrick early in the second.

The score remained close throughout the second, with the Eskymos taking a 23-21 lead into the halftime locker room.

Maki finished with 25 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Bink added 10 of her 15 in the second half.

“We’re real pleased with how Keira got us going with her defense, ballhandling and scoring,” said Beveridge. “We took the ball to the hoop more in the fourth quarter. We had eight turnovers in the third quarter, but the girls fought through it. They were struggling at times, but we had some illness and were missing two starters.”

Zawacki paced the Broncos with 12 points, and Fredrick had 10.

Esky committed 20 turnovers, and BR-H had 17.

The Eskymos, who also won the JV game 47-32, host top-ranked Calumet Friday.

The Broncos host Rapid River Monday.

BR-Harris 5 16 8 15 — 44

Escanaba 9 14 12 17 — 52

 Bark River-Harris — Fredrick 10, Peterson 4, Zawacki 12, Zawada 2, Ives 6, Erickson 8. FT: 7-18; F: 12; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Zawacki 2, Fredrick.

 Escanaba — Monkevich 2, Maki 25, Henderson 2, Bink 15, LaMarche 4, Carter 4. FT: 10-15; F: 17; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Bink 2.