Bark River-Harris junior Julia Nault (42) aims to deliver a bounce pass during a game against Escanaba on Jan. 17, 2025 at Bark River-Harris High School. ("The Big Dog" Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

FELCH TOWNSHIP — Despite outscoring Bark River-Harris in the first half, the North Dickinson girls varsity basketball team found itself in a battle on Thursday in the Carl F. Lemin Gymnasium.

With everything knotted at 47 and a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, both teams were looking for a way to avoid overtime.

The Broncos (3-10, 3-1) came up with the answer as junior Julia Nault came open at the top of the 3-point line. She banked the shot off the glass and gave Bark River-Harris a 50-47 lead.

The Nordics (9-5, 2-2) had one last shot, but it fell short, and the Broncos held on for the Skyline Central Conference win.

“I thought it was a fun game,” North Dickinson head coach Kirk Mattson said. “Both teams played their hearts out. It was a battle. Everybody was hustling all over the floor. We had a few untimely turnovers late that led to uncontested layups.

“But, that’s the nature of the beast. Sometimes, we’re our own worst enemy with turnovers. Our effort was there. But they made a big shot. That last 3-pointer they made was off the board, and things like that happen.”

Bark River sophomore Emma Zawada opened the scoring in the first quarter with a layup, and it went on a run. Nault sunk a layup, senior Marissa Ives knocked down a mid-range jumper and Zawada plucked a pass that turned into a layup. Four minutes into the game, the Broncos led 8-2.

North Dickinson freshman Lauren Jungwirth stopped the run, converting a layup through contact. That’s when freshman Alyson Steinbrecher took over. She scored four points to tie the game and drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Nordics an 11-8 advantage.

Bark River’s offense struggled in the second. It scored six points in the frame.

North Dickinson took advantage, racking up 11 points in the frame. Sophomore Ava Oman led the way with five second-quarter points, and the Nordics held a 22-14 advantage at halftime.

The Broncos came out of the break on a mission.

“I thought Bark River made a nice adjustment, spreading the floor and making some nice long passes,” Mattson said. “(They) were making our defense work.”

Bark River went on a 19-1 run to open the third quarter, and it retook the lead for the first time since the opening frame. Zawada led the way with eight points, while the Broncos made four 3-pointers in the quarter. They led 33-29 entering the fourth.

There were six lead changes and three ties in the final frame. With two minutes to play, Nordics’ sophomore Aunika Lindholm connected on her second 3-pointer of the fourth, putting them ahead 47-46.

But they wouldn’t hold on.

“It always stinks to lose a game,” Mattson said. ‘But, I’d rather have a game like this, where you come out on the short end, rather than going and winning a game by 40 against a team that struggles. Because you don’t get anything out of that, you take a lot of good things out of this loss. You learn from it and go on.”

North Dickinson won the 3-point battle with nine makes compared to eight for the Broncos. Both teams struggled at the free-throw line. The Nordics went 5-for-15, while Bark River went 2-for-6 at the charity stripe.

Zawada led all scorers in the contest with 19 points.

The Broncos also received contributions from Ives (5 points), Hope Varoni (6 points), Melinah Cortez (5 points), Callie Flagstadt (3 points), Nault (10 points) and Alayna Lippens (2 points).

Steinbrecher’s 12 points led North Dickinson.

The Nordics also received contributions from Raina Ledzian (8 points), Oman (11 points), Jungwirth (5 points), Aspen Anderson (1 point) and Lindhlm 11 points).

Bark River returns home on Monday to face Stephenson, while North Dickinson is off until Thursday when Munising comes to town.