Turnovers and shooting have been Ely’s downfall in early-season defeats. That was again the case Dec. 11 at Floodwood, where the host Polar Bears pulled away in the second half and scored a 57-46 high school girls basketball victory over the visiting Timberwolves.
It was the fourth loss in five contests for Ely, and the common theme in all four have been cold shooting streaks and too many turnovers.
The Wolves were just five-of-27 from three-point range against the talented Polar Bears, and Ely was held without a triple and just six field goals overall in a 19-point second half.
For the game, Ely also had 19 turnovers.
Overall, Ely shot 25 percent (16-of-64) and never caught fire in the road tilt. Floodwood led 30-27 at the break and slowly added to that margin in the second stanza.
Junior Lydia Shultz nearly kept the Wolves in the game by herself, finishing with a team-best 23 points with eight rebounds and four steals.
Shultz was the only Ely player to score in double figures, and junior Amelia Penke was next with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Lillie O’Neill and Ruby Lowe had five points each for the Wolves, and Gretta Lowe wound up with four points. Floodwood’s Aussie Aho scored 19 points and teammate Kenzie Kiminski was next with 16 points.
• Ely met North Woods Thursday night after deadline, and the Wolves return to action with home games Dec. 29 and 30 against Two Harbors and Fond du Lac. Those games will be held in conjunction with a holiday tournament hosted by the boys basketball team.
• A Dec. 9 game at Silver Bay, postponed because of weather concerns, will be made up on Jan. 22.
