Justin St. Ours | Daily Press The Bark River-Harris basketball team celebrates with its MHSAA Division 3 District 33 Championship trophy after beating Menominee Friday in Harris.

HARRIS — It was another night for Bark River-Harris that would be marked down in the record book, with the girls basketball team winning its first Division 3 district title over Menominee 37-33 in Harris Friday.

With less than a minute left in the game, Bark River’s McKenzie Hoffmeyer snatched the ball from Menominee’s hands and scored on a fastbreak layup to put the Broncos ahead 36-33 with just 36 seconds remaining.

“Luckily enough, McKenzie Hoffmeyer got her hands in there and tipped the ball and got her hands on it with the big steal,” Richer said. “We weren’t going to let her beat us. She had the free throws, but we weren’t going to let her beat us. She wasn’t going to beat us down low.”

Despite the barrage of timeouts on both sides, the Maroons remained stymied by BR-H’s defenses, and a spate of defensive rebounds forced Menominee to begin fouling.

“What we kept on telling them in the timeouts is that (we need to go) one possession at a time,” Richer said. “When they miss we need to rebound. We got into it in the early fourth quarter where we were fouling and putting them at the free throw line, and I told the girls we can’t win this way. Play good defense, and if she makes it, she makes it. You can’t give her two free shots.”

However, neither team could find the basket, with Bark River going 1-for-6 on free throws in the last 10 seconds.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Broncos led 29-21 — their largest lead of the game so far.

“I told the girls to believe in yourselves,” Richer said. “You can do anything if you believe in yourself. You’ve got to trust yourself and trust your teammates, and we got it in, in the fourth quarter. We knew we had our chance. They started to press a little bit, and then, they caught up. I would’ve had a little relief if we made a couple free throws, but what a feeling. I’m so happy for my team. I’ve got a great group of girls, and I couldn’t be more happy with them.”

Then, Menominee powerhouse Kennedy Olson, who the Broncos held to just three points in the first three quarters, laid one in just 20 seconds after the start of the quarter.

“She’s their best player, and (we knew) she wasn’t going to pass the ball when they’re down,” Richer said. “They needed to score, and we sent the house to her.”

The basket kicked off a 7-2 scoring run, including Olson going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, to reduce the Maroons’ deficit to just 31-30 with 4:43 remaining.

“We just had to keep fighting,” Maroons coach Lucas Chouinard said. “That’s the M.O. of this group. We struggled early on through the season, and we ran into some sickness and some other things mid-way through. In February, we really started fighting hard. We’re talking offensively and defensively.

“I think the girls finally got to the point where they got to the point where they understood how they needed to play offensively and defensively to be successful. That was just the message. Keep fighting. Try to finish possessions offensively and defensively, and I thought we did a great job of that in the fourth quarter. We were able to chip into that lead that Bark River had.”

Both teams went 1-for-2 from the free throw line over the next few minutes, and Bark River’s Olivia Erickson sank two more to put the Broncos up 34-31 with 2:13 left.

The majority of the first three quarters was nip and tuck, with the Broncos pulling away in the second half of the third thanks to two baskets from Cara Zawacki — including a buzzer-beater — and one from Lauren Zawada to finish the third.

Over the course of the game, Menominee lost more than six points under the basket due to fouls, which seriously hampered its momentum at critical times.

Zawacki led the Broncos with 14 points.

“It’s pretty cool,” Richer said. “Write the game plan, and the girls executed. I couldn’t ask for more. We did a lot in practice recently. Justin Bloniarz came to practice and helped worked against his own. You saw it in the first half — we really moved the ball well.”

Olson finished at the top for the Maroons with 12 points.

Menominee finishes the season 14-7.

“I just think all of our seniors did a great job of creating a family atmosphere for the younger athletes on our team,” Chouinard said. “They really had a vision early on that that’s what they wanted to create. We’re talking varsity and JV players. They were all included in everything they did, and that’s what you want from your seniors. They really created a positive atmosphere that these underclassmen can really learn from. In the end you’re going to forget this game and the score, but in the end 10, or 15 years from now, you’re going to remember how you’ve been treated. I can’t ask anything more from them as a coach. Just disappointed we couldn’t (win here).”

Bark River travels to Marquette to face Calumet (19-2), who topped Ishpeming 68-29 in its district championship, for a regional opener Tuesday.

Menominee 9 7 5 12 — 33

Bark River-Harris 9 9 11 8 — 37

Menominee — Olson 12, Axtell 8, Nerat 6, Sinks 5, Doyle 2. FT:14-21; F: 19; Fouled out: Nerat; 3-point field goals: Axtell 2, Sinks 1.

Bark River-Harris — Zawacki 14, Zawada 8, Hoffmeyer 6, Erickson 4, Bower 2, Peterson 2, Ives 1. FT: 7-17; F: 17; Fouled out: Erickson; 3-point field goals: Zawacki 2.