Norway junior Paytan Carlson (23) drives to the basket and past Iron Mountain’s Gerilis Sampoll Torres (22) in Norway on Monday. (Terry Raiche photo)

NORWAY — The Knights’ five-game losing streak is finally over.

However, it wasn’t easy as the Norway girls varsity basketball team faced off with Iron Mountain on Tuesday in Norway.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, Knights’ junior Lauren Adams and Mountaineers’ sophomore Alysia Wood collided heads underneath the basket. They both would leave the game and not return.

“(Lauren’s) got a pretty big egg on her head,” Norway head coach Brian Adams said, “that thing blew up right away. I was going to walk over there, being dad, and say, ‘Come on. Get up. We’ve got to finish this.’ But, I got to about half court and I could see it. … With that size egg, we weren’t going to take any chances.”

Despite the loss of key players, Norway (1-5, 0-1) and Iron Mountain (3-6, 1-1) had a game to finish. The Mountaineers rallied in the fourth quarter but ultimately fell to the Knights, 57-53.

“We needed a win,” coach Adams said. “That’s what started us last year. We went through a losing streak and then we got a win. And we took off.

“The thing I’m most proud about with these girls is in our last game, we were down six going into the fourth quarter. Lauren got in foul trouble, so I had to pull her out and in the next two minutes, we were down 16. We turned it over six times in a row. Minus the last two minutes of this game, I thought our composure was better. Lila Kleikamp hit some huge shots. Paytan Carlson was steady. She’s one of our best players. I’m really proud of all of them.”

Iron Mountain opened the game with a layup from Bella Pickett and a mid range jump shot from Wood, as it took a 4-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.

A deep two-pointer from Lila Kleikamp and a 3-pointer from Lauren Adams pushed the Knights ahead, 5-4, a minute later.

Norway held onto the lead throughout the frame and took a 12-9 advantage into the second.

Linsenbigler and Lauren Adams took over in the second for their respective teams. Linsenbigler scored nine while Lauren Adams had eight second-quarter points. The Knights led 25-20 at the halftime break.

“Our game plan with her was, when they get a rebound (Linsenbigler) does a heck of a job sprinting the floor and she gets a lot of layups that way,” coach Adams said.

“Because she’s really, really fast. Our goal was to make sure we picked her up in transition. The second thing we wanted to do was front her in the post, so they couldn’t just lob it into her.”

That game plan worked in the third as Norway held Linsenbigler scoreless. Things were going Norway’s way in the quarter and it stretched its lead to eight points off a 3-pointer from Carlson. However, shortly after, Lauren Adams and Wood collided.

After struggling without Lauren Adams in their last game, the Knights leaned on Carlson and Kleikamp.

“I think the first couple of possessions after she goes out are important,” coach Adams said. “If we do what we did against Lake Linden and they’re going out and getting, as I call it, ‘turnover for touchdowns.’ It changes the whole complexion of the game. But, that’s not what happened.

“They didn’t turn it over, they hit shots, they moved the ball.”

Norway held an 18-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Mountaineers slowly chipped away at it, eventually cutting it down to four points. Linsenbigler scored eight points in the fourth while Gerilis Sampoll-Torres added five. With a minute left in the game and holding one timeout, coach Adams had a decision to make — trust in his players and hold the timeout or use it to calm things down.

“Obviously, you’re debating in your head but my thing was I didn’t want to be standing there with nine seconds left, they score, we’re up two or three,” coach Adams said, “now we have to inbound, we’re not getting it in and I don’t have one. You’re playing Russian Roulette either way.”

Linsenbigler led all scorers in the contest with 20 points. The Mountaineers also received contributions from Pickett (10 points), Olivia Geneva (4 points), Ava Marttila (2 points), Wood (4 points), Sampoll-Torres (7 points) and Zahra Wicks (6 points).

Norway received contributions from Lauren Adams (16 points), Abby Richter (1 point), Mary Cavagnetto (7 points), Carlson (10 points), Kara Stanchina (5 points), Kleikamp (12 points), Payton Paquette (4 points) and Jessa Rossler (2 points).

The Knights are back in action on Tuesday in Stephenson while Iron Mountain returns to Mountaineer Gym on Monday against Westwood.