Iron Mountain sophomore Alysia Wood (15) splits the defense and drives to the basket for a layup against Menominee defenders Emily Schuettpelz (20) and Gianna Coduti (11) on Friday in Menominee during an MHSAA Division 3 District 66 final. (Terry Raiche photo)

MENOMINEE — One of the beauties of the high school basketball tournament is that it gives all teams, no matter what their record, a chance to wipe their regular-season slate clean and begin again.

The Iron Mountain Mountaineers (6-16 in the regular season) and the Menominee Maroons (7-14 in the regular season) took advantage of that start-over, each winning a district semifinal game to advance to Friday’s MHSAA Division 3 District 66 final.

In the end, Menominee kept its season going with a 59-44 verdict over the Mountaineers at Menominee High School. With their victory, the Maroons advanced to face Calumet (19-5) in a Regional 17 semifinal today at Escanaba High School.

With their defeat, the Mountaineers finished their season with a 7-17 mark.

The difference in Friday’s matchup was Menominee’s ability to score in and around the paint and at the free-throw line. The Maroons finished with 23 field goals, none from 3-point distance, and also sank 13 of 17 (76 percent) free throws.

On the other hand, the Mountaineers recorded just nine shots inside the 3-point arc and hit only 8 of 19 from the foul line (42 percent).

Iron Mountain did connect on six triples, including three from senior Gerilis Sampoll Torres, two from sophomore Alysia Wood and one from freshman Olivia Geneva.

Menominee junior Emily Schuettpelz did the most damage to IM’s hopes, recording a game-high 18 points on eight field goals and 2 for 2 from the charity stripe.

Schuettpelz scored 16 of her points in the first half when the Maroons took control of the game, building a 31-19 lead. The rest of the game was basically played evenly.

After falling into a 15-5 hole in the opening quarter, the Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run, sparked by two triples from Sampoll Torres.

Wood added a driving bank shot as Iron Mountain fought back to within 15-13.

But Schuettpelz hit a layup off an inbounds play and junior Richele Milostan completed a 3-point play after a steal to help Menominee take a six-point edge into the second period.

Schuettpelz then registered 10 of her team’s 12 points in the second quarter when Menominee outscored the Mountaineers 12-6 to head into the locker room up 31-19.

In the third quarter, Torres, Wood, Macy Linsenbigler and Ava Marttila sank a bucket each. Linsenbigler added a free throw as Iron Mountain sliced a point off its deficit to enter the fourth quarter down 39-28.

Wood started the fourth period with a 3-pointer and Linsenbigler followed with a bucket to pull the Mountaineers within eight. But Menominee answered with buckets from Alexa Axtell and Ella Barker and two free throws from Lexi Marineau to restore their double-digit lead at 47-33.

The closest Iron Mountain got after that run was 10.

Sampoll Torres paced the Mountaineers with 14 points. Linsenbigler added 13 and Wood contributed 12.

Following Schuettpelz, Milostan recorded 11 points, Marineau chipped in with nine, Barker scored eight and Gianna Coduti finished with six.

Iron Mountain’s loss was the final prep basketball game for seniors Linsenbigler, Sampoll Torres, Bella Pickett and Lexi Buchanan.

SCORING

IRON MOUNTAIN – Geneva 1 0-0 3, Marttila 1 0-0 2, Wood 4 2-4 12, Sampoll Torres 4 3-6 14, Linsenbigler 5 3-9 13. Totals: 15 8-19 44. Three-pointers: 6 (Sampoll Torres 3, Wood 2, Geneva.

MENOMINEE – Barker 4 0-0 8, Chouinard 0 3-4 3, Coduti 2 2-2 6, Milostan 5 1-1 11, Schuettpelz 8 2-2 18, Marineau 2 5-6 9, Axtell 2 0-2 4. Totals 23 13-17 59. Three-pointers: none.