Todd Rose | Daily Press Mid Peninsula’s Mary McNally (24) shoots over the defending pair of Rapid River’s Megan Dausey (front) and Gracie Stemick (behind) Monday night in Rapid River.

RAPID RIVER — It took a while for the Mid Peninsula girls to shake off some holiday rust here Monday night as they broke away for a 44-20 basketball triumph over the Rapid River Rockets.

Mid Pen, which hadn’t played in two weeks, led 13-12 at halftime of this non-conference contest.

“It was a little ugly in the first half, although both teams hustled,” said Mid Pen coach Phil Croasdell. “We had a good scrimmage (with Gwinn) last week. Tonight, we had a group pick it up in our press, which helped wake the girls up. We got a lot of steals but couldn’t do anything with them.”

The Rockets trailed just 17-16 following a jump shot from the boulevard by junior Megan Dausey with two minutes, 45 seconds left in the third quarter.

Mid Pen responded with 21 unanswered points, gaining a 38-16 advantage with 3:35 left in the contest when junior Mary McNally split a pair of three throws.

A lay-in by Dausey gave Rapid River a 6-3 lead with two minutes left in the opening frame.

The Wolverines scored the next seven points, taking a 10-6 lead on a lay-up by sophomore Maddy VanDamme, set up on an inbound pass by senior Shae Lampinen.

Mid Pen (3-1) extended its lead to 13-8 on a layup by senior Landry Koski midway through the second.

The Rockets (0-6), however, pulled within 13-12 on a 17-foot jump shot by junior Aiyana Semear in the waning moments of the second.

“I think all the girls played real well,” said Rockets’ coach Scott Goodacre. “Only, they got tired in the third quarter. The big thing for us is getting from point A to point B. I couldn’t be happier with the effort. I thought we pressed a little too much, but that’s a way to get some conditioning during a game.”

VanDamme scored 12 points, and Koski added 11 for the Wolverines, who hit just 6-of-25 free throws. Dausey hit 14 for the Rockets.

“Maddy had a nice game,” said Croasdell. “We probably have 10 girls who can start. We’re looking for the right combination. We probably scored half our points within a six-minute stretch. We got fouled but couldn’t hit free throws. We just had to forget the first half and come out and start playing better in the second half. The Dausey girl did a nice job for them. She wasn’t afraid to go inside.”

The teams combined for 57 turnovers, including 35 by Rapid River.

“I think we improved on defense a little bit,” said Goodacre. “We tried to stay in the gym as much as we could during the (Christmas) break. I was glad to see all the girls taking shots.”

Rapid River visits Superior Central Friday. Mid Pen is idle until Jan. 14, when it hosts North Dickinson.

Mid Peninsula 8 5 11 20 — 44

Rapid River 6 6 4 4 — 20

Mid Peninsula — Johnson 3, Koski 11, Nummilien 2, Lampinen 6, McNally 5, M. VanDamme 12, Hemminger 2, C. VanDamme 3. FT: 6-25; F: 13; Fouled out: None.

Rapid River — Semear 4, Dausey 14, Snay 1, McCarty 1. FT: 2-5; F: 21; Fouled out: None.