North Dickinson junior Raina Ledzian (12) looks to put up a shot in the paint against Bessemer on Tuesday at Carl F. Lemin Gym. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

FELCH TOWNSHIP — The North Dickinson girls varsity team opened its 2024-25 campaign with four-straight road games against tough opponents.

However, that stretch ended on Tuesday as the Nordics kicked off its home slate against Bessemer at the Carl F. Lemin gymnasium.

“It was nice to have our first home game of the year,” ND head coach Kirk Mattson said. “We had four road games to start, so I think they were happy to be home and we played way more comfortably.”

In front of its home fans, North Dickinson settled in early and blew past the Speedgirls, securing a 67-13 win.

“I thought the whole team played well,” Mattson said. “We took care of the ball. Our emphasis was to not turn the ball over. We were averaging 24 turnovers per game. Tonight, we had eight. Another point of emphasis was attacking the basket off the dribble, coming off curl screens. And we did. We got to the foul line. We made some nice cuts, we were patient. Our defense was really good. … The last couple of games we were kind of flat.

Last week, the Nordics played three games. However, they didn’t miss a beat on Tuesday.

“That first four games were brutal, especially, last week with a back-to-back against two physical teams,” Mattson said. “I thought they came in tonight with energy and were pretty relaxed. We played pretty good basketball. We made some nice passes, the girls were reading each other. It was fun to watch.”

As the season progresses, Mattson has made a point of emphasizing the importance of moving without the ball. He was happy to see the message hit home against Bessemer.

“I always stress, you can’t just stand and watch,” Mattson said. “A lot of times, we run ‘chaos.’ There is no set play. It’s just make a play.”

North Dickinson took control from the opening tip and built a 14-0 lead with Lauren Jungwirth pitching in six points and Raina Ledzian adding eight.

Bessemer added two points in the first quarter on free throws from Audrey Stone. It wasn’t enough to slow the Nordics and they took a 23-2 lead into the second.

North Dickinson continued to apply defensive pressure as Ledzian and freshman Aspen Anderson helped hold the Speedgirls to five second-quarter points.

“I don’t have to say anything to (Anderson), she just does it automatically,” Mattson said. “She plays with a good chip on her shoulder. She plays hard, she’s determined and she brings that intensity and physicality to the game. Our team feeds off of her when she does that. She had a really nice game.”

The Nordics scored 22 points in the second and took a 45-7 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Mattson emptied the bench and the entire roster scored in North Dickinson’s 67-13 win.

Ava Oman led all scorers in the contest with 17 points.

“She was patient,” Mattson said. “She took her shots on the perimeter, when they were open. When they came out (to defend the 3-point line), she was attacking the basket. She’s a strong dribbler and she is deceptively fast.”

While Oman made her mark in the scoring column, she has also begun to find her footing as a multi-faceted weapon for the Nordics.

“It’s awesome,” Mattson said. “I saw it when she was in junior high. She could shoot and she did a lot of things well. She really worked on her left hand and she’s worked hard on defense over the summer. I’m very happy for her because she’s got a lot of potential and she’s starting to see it.”

North Dickinson also received contributions from Jessica Harwath (8 points), Ledzian (11 points), Hailee Siegler (2 points), Alison Steinbrecher (7 points), Jungwirth (9 points), Anderson (7 points), Aubrey Applekamp (2 points) and Aunika Lindholm (4 points).

The Nordics are off until Jan. 3 when they face North Central in Felch Township. During the time off, Mattson wants to focus on improved rebounding.

“Sometimes, we get a little relaxed in boxing out,” Mattson said. “I saw that in the third and fourth quarter, we let down a little bit. We are not a big team, we’re a team of guards. So we need to team rebound, which means get out from under the basket, get a body on someone and jump for the rebound.

“When we get into transition, that’s our strength. But, we can’t run if we don’t rebound.”

LADYCATS 38, EAGLES 32

EAGLE RIVER, Wis. — Senior Kamdan Johnson led all scorers with 15 points and the Florence girls varsity basketball team escaped Eagle River, Wis. with a 38-32 non-conference win over Northland Pines (2-4, 0-2) on Tuesday.

The LadyCats are 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in Northern Lakes Conference play.

Florence had three scorers with three points in the first half and held a 13-12 lead at the break.

After a slow start, Johnson scored 12 second-half points. The LadyCats racked up 25 points in the frame as a unit and held the Eagles to 20 points in the second.

Florence connected on four 3-point shots in the game while Northland Pines made two.

The LadyCats’ offense received contributions from CeCe Mills (6 points), Naomi Millan (5 points), Miley VanDenHeuvel (3 points), Kelsi Chrisman (5 points), Abby Novak (2 points) and Ashley Peterson (2 points).

Florence is back in action today as it heads to Carney to face Carney-Nadeau.

LADY BADGERS 66, RANGERS 17

WAUSAUKEE, Wis. — Alivia Kleikamp scored 18 points, senior Mallory Sanicki added 16 and the Niagara girls varsity basketball team rode an impressive offensive outburst to a 66-17 Marinette & Oconto Conference road win over Wausaukee on Tuesday.

Mallory Sanicki pitched in 11 first-half points and Kleikamp added nine as the Lady Badgers exploded for 40 points in the frame. They held the Rangers to eight points and took a sizable lead into halftime.

From there it was over. Wausaukee scored nine points in the final frame while the Lady Badgers piled up 26. As a result, the Rangers fell to 0-4 in conference play.

As a team, Niagara made six 3-pointers while going 6 for 10 from the charity stripe.

The Lady Badgers also received contributions from Bristol Sanicki (8 points), Marley Jones (10 points), Payton Neuens-Allred (4 points), Sydney Swanson (5 points) and Rachael Walker (5 points).

Niagara is back at home on Friday against Suring.