Bark River-Harris senior Marissa Ives (1) follows through on a 3-point attempt during a game against Kingsford on Dec. 2, 2024 at Bark River-Harris High School. ("The Big Dog" Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

HARRIS — The Bark River-Harris girls were unable to overcome Menominee’s big third quarter here Tuesday night in a physical 53-42 non-conference basketball loss.

BR-H took a 20-19 lead early in the third on a jump shot from the lane by senior forward Hope Varoni.

Menominee answered with a 12-0 run, taking a 31-20 lead on a free throw by junior forward Gianna Coduti.

The Broncos got within 35-28 with 71 seconds remaining in the third.

Menominee, which outscored BR-H 22-10 in the third, extended its lead to 42-28 early in the fourth stanza.

“It was good for us to get into a game like this,” Maroons’ coach Lucas Chouinard said. “We knew their defensive pressure would be on us for four quarters. I thought we did a good job executing in the second half. Our girls did a good job getting into their spots and attacking.”

The Maroons led 48-31 with five minutes remaining.

Junior guard Callie Flagstadt, however, sank a 20-foot set shot and Varoni added a layup and free throw to bring the Broncos within 48-37 with less than three minutes left to play.

Menominee scored the next four points, gaining an insurmountable 52-37 advantage on a 20-foot set shot by junior forward Brianna Ary.

“The third quarter was rough,” BR-H coach Paige Welch said. “It was kind of a game of runs. We found our spots on offense in the second quarter, then they eventually pulled away with it.”

Coduti helped the Maroons come out of the gate early with a free throw and three layups for a 7-0 lead.

The Broncos trimmed their deficit to 7-4 on a 12-foot jumper by Flagstad within the next 55 seconds.

A pair of gifters by Coduti gave the Maroons a 15-9 cushion with 38.5 seconds left in the first.

Varoni then sank a seven-foot set shot from the baseline on a pass from senior Danica Peterson to shave the Broncos’ deficit to 15-11 at the end of the first.

A steal and layup by junior guard Julia Nault brought BR-H within 15-13 early in the second.

Varoni added a lay-in and split a pair of free throws to give the Broncos a 16-15 lead with 6:10 left in the second.

It stayed that way for nearly five minutes until Flagstadt’s set shot gave the Broncos a three-point lead.

“That’s the game of basketball,” Chouinard said. “You just have to work through it with great defense. I thought we took a big step forward from our first game (a 55-41 loss at Ishpeming Westwood).”

Menominee (1-1) then scored the last four points before halftime as Coduti drained a pair of gifters for a 19-18 lead 22 seconds before the intermission.

“She’s a good player,” Welch said. “She’s also left-handed which makes her harder to defend. They were ready to go and our slow start hurt us.”

The teams combined for 38 fouls and 54 turnovers. The Broncos had 22 fouls and 28 miscues.

“I’m happy with our defensive effort,” Welch said. “I felt we made some progress, but our goal is to at least get under 15 turnovers. It’s hard to win a game when you turn the ball over 28 times.”

Coduti scored 13 of her 18 points in the first quarter. Junior guard Lexi Marineau hit 9-of-12 free throws and added 11 points.

“Gianna is a very dynamic player for us,” Chouinard said. “She had kind of a rough night at Westwood. It was nice for her to get some easy baskets in the first quarter. I think that boosted her confidence. We talked about effort and doing the little things. Two minutes into the game Giannna was diving for balls. At different points in the game we had trouble hanging on to the ball. This is one of those teams which the girls are going to have to score by committee.”

Senior guard Marissa Ives led the Broncos (0-3) with 12 points and Varoni finished with 11.

BR-H played without sophomore Emma Zawada, who’s recovering from pneumonia.

Both teams resume Friday. The Broncos visit Escanaba and the Maroons host Gwinn.

Box score

Menominee 15 4 22 12 — 53

BR-Harris 11 7 10 14 — 42

Menominee — Barker 8, Chouinard 4, Coduti 18, Fox 2, Schuettpelz 6, Marineau 11, Ary 3. Axtell 1. FT: 21-32; F: 16; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Barker, Ary.

Bark River-Harris — Ives 12, Varoni 11, Hoffmeyer 2, Bridges 5, Cortez 2, Flagstadt 8, Nault 2. FT: 4-12; F: 22; Fouled out: Nault; 3-point field goals: Ives, Bridges.