Bark River-Harris sophomore Emma Zawada (white jersey) Escanaba junior Ava Stalboerger (23, left) and senior Katey Lamb battle for a rebound during a game on Jan. 17, 2025 at Bark River-Harris High School.

HARRIS — Déjà vu is an incredibly eerie feeling.

Living in a moment that’s all too familiar can be as awkward as it is terrifying.

Escanaba girls’ basketball found a way to shake that feeling, earning a 45-39 road win over Bark River-Harris on Friday.

“We didn’t have a great shooting night, but we built our lead gradually,” Esky coach Tracy Hudson said. “(Bark River-Harris) made an unbelievable run at us. We were kind of mentally prepared for it, but we had to settle down.”

In last year’s meeting in Bark River-Harris the Eskymos (6-5) held a 21-point lead in the third quarter. That lead disintegrated as then Broncos senior Nina Bower drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining to hand Esky a gut wrenching 66-63 loss.

Fast forward to Friday and the Eskymos found themselves in a somewhat similar situation. A layup from senior Grayson LaMarche gave the Eskymos a commanding 36-22 lead early in the fourth quarter.

But with 2:08 to go in the fourth quarter Hudson was forced to burn a timeout. Broncos junior Julia Nault buried her fourth 3-point shot of the game seconds earlier. A 36-22 lead was disintegrating to a 40-37 lead with momentum slanted toward BR-H (2-8), who was riding the wave of a 15-4 run which sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

This time, however, Esky pushed back when it needed to the most.

Esky senior Katey Lamb buried a layup out of the break to push the advantage to five points. Senior McKenzie Engebretson split a pair of free throws with 1:45 to go to extend the lead to 43-37. Nault nailed another jumper from inside the arc with 1:22 to go, but it was the Broncos’ final points of the game.

While the Eskymos let their lead slip a year ago, they refused to let the lead inside the confines of Bark River-Harris slip away from their grasp this time around.

“We got a little rattled, but I think we got composed,” Hudson said. “Last year when it happened I don’t think we ever reeled back in, but I saw us reel it back in at the end this year. I think we learned from it. We learned a lesson.”

For the Broncos, Friday’s game was another learning experience.

“I’m really proud of my team,” BR-H coach Paige Welch said. “I feel like we played together. They did things that I asked them to do.”

The Broncos struggled to generate offense early, mustering a total of eight points in the first half and committing 10 turnovers while Hudson’s trademark 1-3-1 zone was dialed up in the game’s first 16 minutes.

Then Nault erupted, knocking down all of her game-high 18 points in the second half. She got hot, something Welch could smell from a mile away.

“She’s a good shooter. She just needs to find the right time to take great shots,” Welch said of Nault. “I’m proud of her. She needed that for her confidence.”

Now the Broncos are left to focus on shot selection and ball movement to limit turnovers and boost offensive efficiency.

“Offensively, we’re having a hard time setting any plays up,” Welch said. “They’re working hard. I think we’re getting really close. Their confidence is getting there, and I think that’s a huge part of us going forward.”

Next games

Escanaba: Hosts West Iron County at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Bark River-Harris: Plays at 6 p.m. Monday for a varsity only game at Rapid River.

Box score

Escanaba 12 6 14 13 — 45

Bark River-Harris 4 4 12 19 — 39

Escanaba — Salo 13, Engebreston 3, LaMarche 15, Stalboreger 4, Lamb 7, Beauchamp 3; FT: 8-20; Fouls: 20; Fouled out: Bray; 3-point field goals: Salo 2, Stalboerger 1

Bark River-Harris — Ives 7, Varoni 7, Zawada 1, Cortez 3, Flagstadt 3, Nault 18; FT: 6-15; Fouls: 15; Technical fouls: Ives 1; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Nault 4, Flagstadt 1