North Dickinson junior Raina Ledzian (11) dribbles the ball up court on Thursday against Carney-Nadeau in the Carl F. Lemin Gymnasium. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

FELCH TOWNSHIP — Ranked or not, when the North Dickinson girls varsity basketball team is clicking on all cylinders, it’s a tough matchup for anyone.

On Thursday, Carney-Nadeau saw how dominant the Nordics (14-5, 7-1) can be, especially at home.

North Dickinson dominated the Wolves (10-9, 2-6) down the stretch and secured a 49-38 Skyline Central Conference-Small School win in the Carl F. Lemin Gymnasium.

“The first half concerned me, we played a little tight,” Nordics head coach Kirk Mattson said. “For whatever reason, when we play Carney we are a little bit tight, we have been the past couple of years.

“I just told them to relax at halftime. I thought we were on the verge of going on a run. It was just a matter of picking our defense up a little bit and trying to get some quick buckets. It worked, we got some nice looks and easy buckets and pulled away there.”

The win also secured the Skyline Central Conference-Small School title for the Nordics.

“Our goal has always been to try and get a district championship,” Mattson said. “It’s nice to get a conference championship, but a district is what we’re looking for. One nice thing, I told the girls, ‘There’s small school and large school. We won the small and tied with Munising at one loss. When you look at the whole conference, we had the same record as the top team in the large.’

“Throughout the whole conference, that’s a great accomplishment to be tied.”

North Dickinson handed the Mustangs its lone conference loss, 47-38, on Feb. 6 in Munising.

Entering the game, the Nordics knew they needed to focus on Carney seniors Grace Maule and Mariska Laurila if they were going to be successful.

“We stuck with our game plan,” Mattson said. “They have two scorers and we weren’t going to let Maule shoot threes.

“We knew what Laurila could do inside, so we were collapsing on her and making sure someone stuck to Maule. We stuck to that plan and fortunately for us, the plan worked.”

Laurila ended the game with 18 points while Maule scored six.

Laurila opened the first quarter scoring with an easy layup. Then North Dickinson went on a run.

Sophomore Aunika Lindolm knocked down a straight-away 3-pointer then she was fouled on a three. She knocked down all of the free throws and freshman Lauren Jungwirth buried a 3-pointer, shortly after to put the home team ahead 9-2.

Laurila scored five points over the next three minutes, Maule buried a left-wing 3-pointer and suddenly, the Wolves held a 10-9 advantage.

“We lost her a couple of times and were lucky she didn’t make more shots,” Mattson said. “When you’re mindful of that the whole game it will make a player press a little bit.

“Those are little details that go a long way.”

Freshman Apen Anderson converted a reverse layup off a Jungwirth assist putting the Nordics ahead by one with 11 seconds left in the first.

Just as it looked like North Dickinson would enter the second ahead, freshman Jayden Laurin buried a 3-pointer and Carney-Nadeau led 14-12 after one.

The Wolves opened the second on a 5-0 run, but the Nordics had an answer. They managed to keep things close and entered the break trailing 26-22.

“We know they play that extended 2-3 zone,” Mattson said. “We worked on getting the ball to the high post, but for whatever reason, we were struggling to get the ball in there. In the second half, we emphasized getting the ball in the post and Aunika Lindholm benefited with two corner threes.

“We told her she’s got to shoot the ball because the kid can shoot. She didn’t shoot in the first half. That was key for us. It was huge.”

Lindholm took her coach’s advice and it paid off. She made her first 3-pointer midway through the third, putting North Dickinson ahead by one. Her next one came a few minutes later.

“I had a feeling we were on the verge of opening it up,” Mattson said.

Jungwirth scored six points in the final minute and the Nordics led 42-33 entering the final quarter.

The pace slowed down in the fourth. North Dickinson outscored the Wolves 7-5, securing the SCC win. Despite being undersized, the Nordics found success on the glass.

“We were outsized, but I thought we did a really good job defensively, rebounding,” Mattson said. “Team rebounding is key for us.”

Jungwirth’s 22 points led all scorers in the contest.

North Dickinson also received contributions from Hailee Siegler (2 points), Alyson Steinbrecher (9 points), Anderson (4 points) and Lindholm (12 points).

The Nordics end their regular season schedule on Tuesday at home against Kingsford.

“We’ll focus on them this week,” Mattson said, “and we’ll give them heck. We want to play hard, it’s a non conference game but we want to be really competitive with them.

“We want to play well and get out of the game healthy.”

LADY TROJANS 56, BRONCOS 46

BARK RIVER — After dropping back-to-back games, the Forest Park girls varsity basketball team righted the ship on Thursday.

The Lady Trojans battled through a tough offensive first half and downed the Broncos, 56-46, for a Skyline Central Conference-Small School win in Bark River.

“We had a tough time scoring in the second quarter,” FP head coach Kim Bjork said. “Our girls came out in the second half playing tough defensively and creating scoring opportunities for us. It was a total team win from every single person.”

The Lady Trojans stayed with Bark River-Harris in the first quarter, and went into the second trailing 15-11. Things got worse in the next eight minutes.

Forest Park only scored three points in the frame and it trailed 26-14 at halftime.

The Lady Trojans rebounded in the third. They scored 21 points in the quarter while holding the Broncos to 11. The Broncos led by one point entering the fourth.

Forest Park kept its foot on the gas in the final frame, outscoring Bark River-Harris 21-9 to secure the win.

Elsie Williams led all scorers in the contest with 27 points. She also recorded four assists, two rebounds and three steals.

The Lady Trojans also received contributions from Harper Anderson (1 assist, 1 steal), Kaidince Woollard (9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 5 steals), Audrey Williams (11 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 4 steals), Evie Anderson (2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound, 1 steal), Lily Sarder (1 rebound), Khali Woollard (3 rebounds), Aubrey Waara-Shamion (7 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals).

Forest Park ends its regular season on Tuesday at home against North Central.

LADY BADGERS 58, THUNDERHAWKS 44

ONEIDA, Wis. — Whatever was plaguing the Niagara girls varsity basketball team early in the season seems to be a distant memory.

On Thursday, the Lady Badgers (14-9, 9-7) extended their win streak to five games, picking up a 58-44 Marinette & Oconto Conference victory over Oneida Nation (14-8, 9-6).

Niagara caught fire from long range in the first half. Mallory Sanicki and Bristol Sanick each connected on three while Peyton Neuens-Allred added another.

Senior Mallory Sanicki racked up 15 points in the half, propelling the Lady Badgers to a 31-18 advantage at halftime.

Junior Alivia Kleikamp led Niagara’s offense in the second half. She racked up eight points, while Mallory Sanicki and Bristol Sanicki scored four. Both teams scored 26 points in the final 18 minutes, and the Lady Badgers held on for the win.

Mallory Sanicki led all scorers in the contest with 21 points.

Niagara also received contributions from Bristol Sanicki (15 points), Marley Jones (1 point), Neuens-Allred (6 points), Sydney Swanson (5 points) and Kleikamp (10 points).

The Lady Badgers open WIAA Division 5 regional action on Tuesday at home against Gibraltar at 7 p.m.