Bark River-Harris senior Marissa Ives attempts a 3-point shot during a game against Kingsford on Dec. 2, 2024 at Bark River-Harris High School. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

HARRIS — A new girls basketball season officially arrived for Bark River-Harris on Monday night.

The youthful Broncos, aiming to replace three All U.P. players that are all playing at least one sport at the collegiate level, suffered a 58-23 home loss to Kingsford.

“It’s the first game of the year. We’re a completely new team from last year,” said Paige Welch, who made her debut as the Broncos’ head coach on Monday. “I expect a lot out of them. They met some of my expectations.”

The Flivvers claimed the game’s first eight points, forcing several BR-H turnovers thanks to man-to-man pressure. A triple from junior Callie Flagstadt and a layup from junior center Melinah Cortez highlighted a 5-2 spurt to pull the Broncos to within five points near the end of the first frame.

But Kingsford’s pressure proved to be a deciding factor. BR-H sophomore Emma Zawada and junior Julia Nault, making their first ever varsity starts, each accumulated two fouls by the end of the first quarter.

The Flivvers continued to find success from across the floor, outscoring the Broncos 16-6 in the second quarter. Seniors Hope Varoni and Marissa Ives walked into halftime with two fouls each. Nault earned her third.

Kingsford ultimately outscored BR-H 18-1 in the third quarter.

“I’m not going to take anything away from Kingsford,” Welch said. “They worked their butts off. They were prepared for this game. They outworked us and outplayed us. We tried fighting back, but once we were down we were down.

While Monday’s scoreboard tells the tale of a 35-point defeat to Kingsford, it fails to tell the glaring truth that the Broncos are in the beginning stages of creating a new identity with new players and coaches.

“We started picking it up in the fourth quarter, and it started to look like we were ready for our first game, so we were three quarters too late,” Welch said. “Now that we have the (first game) out of the way we’ll be okay. I think Friday will be a whole different story regardless of who we play.”

The Broncos host North Dickinson at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Flivvers resume action with their home opener against Gladstone on Dec. 10th.

Box Score

Kingsford 12 16 18 12 — 58

Bark River-Harris 5 6 1 11 — 23

Kingsford: Przeslakowski 9, Kriegl 3, Moore 14, Kowalski 2, Sundquist 9, Bortolini 11, Olsen 2, Shaughnessy 1, Olson 5, Normand 2; Fouls: 17; FT: 15-27; Fouled out: none; 3-pointers: Kowalski 2, Przeslakowski

Bark River-Harris: Ives 4, Varoni 3, Zawada 2, Cortez 7, Flagstadt 4, Peterson 2, Nault 1; Fouls: 21; FT: 4-11, Fouled out: Zawada; 3-pointers: Varoni, Cortez, Flagstadt