ESCANABA — The Ishpeming girls made it clear what they intended to do early in a non-conference girls basketball game here Thursday night.

Escanaba, however, had different plans in the second half and posted a 49-38 triumph over the visiting Hematites.

Ishpeming took the air out of the ball in the first half and trailed 14-11 following a reverse layup by senior Bailey Zellar three seconds before the intermission.

“At halftime, we told the girls we had to pick up the pace,” said Esky coach Mike Beveridge. “We had a couple girls get hurt in the last game (in Monday’s 56-52 loss at Gladstone). Madi Monkevich injured a finger in her shooting hand and that took away some of the things we wanted to do. We had to make some adjustments, and I thought we got better as the game went on. The girls are going in the right direction.”

The Eskymos, following the advice of their coaching staff, picked up the pace and surged to a 23-13 lead early in the third quarter.

Layups by Zellar and sophomore Jenna Maki brought Ishpeming within 23-17 midway through the third.

Esky bumped its lead to 28-19 on a 20-foot jump shot from the right wing by sophomore guard Keira Maki.

The Hematites responded with seven unanswered points, shaving their deficit to 28-26 on sophomore Addie Morton’s set shot from the lane in the final minute of the third.

Morton’s layup on a pass from Zellar tied the score at 30 early in the fourth.

The Eskymos answered with a 7-0 run, gaining a 37-30 cushion on a pair of free throws by junior guard Mari Bink with six minutes, 10 seconds remaining.

“I felt we had some momentum when we tied the score, then they went on that big run,” said Ishpeming coach Ryan Reichel. “Both teams played good defense in the first half. We could have been up at halftime and put more pressure on them, but we had to make some layups out of our dribble drive. They’re long and tall and real athletic and didn’t give us many clean looks against their 1-3-1. I’d be using that same zone if I had all that height. We weren’t able to get into the paint as easily in the second half, which is why they ran that zone.”

The Hematites closed within 37-33 on Zellar’s jumper from top of the key with 5:08 remaining.

Esky, however, didn’t allow them to get any closer.

Keira Maki led the Eskymos with 13 points. Freshman forward Grayson LaMarche added 12. Jenna Maki was Ishpeming’s leader with 19.

The Eskymos committed 16 turnovers, and the Hematites had 22.

“I thought our defense was the key,” said Beveridge. “We figured out we’re a pretty good zone defensive team. We shot pretty well at the line, and our turnovers were better than the last game. We had more than 20 at Gladstone.”

The Esky JVs also won 56-50.

Esky (11-6) hosted fourth-ranked Sault Ste. Marie Friday and hosts Menominee Wednesday. Ishpeming hosts Manistique Tuesday.

Ishpeming 7 4 15 12 — 38

Escanaba 8 6 16 19 — 49

Ishpeming — Maki 19, Morton 7, Zellar 8, Swanson 2, Koski 2. FT: 6-12; F: 16; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Maki 2.

Escanaba — Barron 5, Maki 13, Stalboerger 8, Henderson 2, Bink 7, LaMarche 12, Carter 2. FT: 11-16; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Barron, Maki, Bink, LaMarche.