ESCANABA — The top-ranked Escanaba girls came up a little short for the first time this season as they dropped a 59-57 basketball decision to fourth-ranked Calumet here Friday night.

Esky (15-1) appeared to be in the driver’s seat with one minute, 53 seconds left to play when senior guard drained a 20-foot set shot for a 57-54 lead.

A layup by Helen Beiring, however, brought the Copper Kings within 57-56 with 1:35 remaining.

Calumet took a 58-57 lead on a putback by sophomore Jackie Kiilunen with 30 seconds left.

Kiilunen then missed a free throw and Salo missed two before junior Isabel Loukus sealed the deal by splitting a pair with 1.8 seconds remaining.

Both teams struggled from the line with Calumet hitting 6-of-11 gifters and Esky finishing 2-of-9.

The Eskymos also committed 17 turnovers compared to Calumet’s eight.

“This game didn’t boil down to free throws,” said Esky coach Tracy Hudson. “Carney is a gamer. I would take her with the game on the line anytime. She’s a clutch player. They just kept coming at us and we didn’t block out at key moments. We missed a block in the fourth quarter when we were up by two points.”

Salo sank a seven-foot jumper for a 54-52 lead with 3:19 remaining.

Calumet then tied the score on a lay-in by junior Laina Kariniemi at 2:26.

“They’re a good team,” said Calumet coach Charlie Kemppainen. “We got a couple bounces that put us over the top. I wish I could control the bounces, but you take them when you get them. No. 34 (sophomore Grayson LaMarche) surprised me a little by hitting back-to-back 3s. We knew (Saylor) Henderson could shoot. This was a very important game. I think we still have a shot at the No. 2 seed (in the Division 3 district).”

LaMarche gave the Eskymos a 39-25 cushion on a 21-foot jumper from the right wing, her second triple, with 5:30 left in the third stanza.

The Copper Kings quickly cut into their deficit, climbing within 39-34 on a lay-in by Loukus midway through the third.

Esky still led 45-41 after the third before Calumet shaved its deficit to 45-44 on a 22-foot jumper from the left wing by junior Caitlyn Strom early in the fourth.

The Copper Kings eventually went ahead 52-50 on a putback by Beiring midway through the fourth.

Junior forward Keira Maki then tied the score on a fast break layup at 3:39.

The Eskymos led 17-5 following a layup by Henderson late in the opening frame.

Maki added another layup for a 22-11 cushion with 5:19 left in the second before Calumet drew within 22-17 on a 22-foot jumper by Loukus.

The Copper Kings were within 27-23 late in the second before sophomore guard Katey Lamb gave the Eskymos a six-point halftime lead on a jumper from the boulevard.

“I told the girls I was proud of them,” said Hudson. “I thought we played a quality game. This is one of the best starts we had all year. We had a real good practice yesterday (Thursday) and it carried over. We were in control most of the game, but they won the fourth quarter. We were up after each quarter except the one that really counted. We just didn’t execute or hit our free throws.”

Henderson led the Eskymos with 15 points. Keira Maki added 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Bink hit nine points. Salo tallied eight points and five assists. LaMarche also had eight points.

Strom and Kariniemi paced the Copper Kings with 17 points apiece and Loukus hit 16.

The Esky jayvees beat Calumet 53-31 and the freshmen rolled past the Mid Peninsula jayvees 44-10.

Esky hosts Gladstone tonight at 7 and Calumet hosts third-ranked Houghton tonight at 7:15.

Calumet 5 18 18 18 — 59

Escanaba 17 12 16 12 — 57

Calumet — Strom 17, J. Kiilunen 2, I. Loukus 16, Kariniemi 17, Beiring 7. FT: 6-11; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: I. Loukus 3, Kariniemi 3, Strom.

Escanaba — Henderson 15, K. Maki 13, Bink 9, Salo 8, LaMarche 8, Chailler 2, Lamb 2. FT: 2-9; F: 13; Fouled out: Bink; 3-point field goals: Henderson 3, Salo 2, LaMarche 2, Bink 2.