The state’s top-ranked team took it to the Ely Timberwolves on Monday night.
Mt. Iron-Buhl, a perennial Class A powerhouse, scored almost at will in the first half and rolled to a 78-35 high school girls basketball victory over the visiting Wolves.
The Arrowhead Conference defeat kicked off a grueling stretch for Ely, now 10-7 this winter.
The Wolves were also at Class AA Mesabi East Thursday, in a game completed after deadline, and they host Chisholm Monday in what figures to be another difficult encounter.
MIB, which has yet to taste defeat this season, pressured the Wolves into 27 turnovers Monday and took control early on.
The Rangers’ Anna Neyens had 20 first-half points and four of her team’s seven long-range bombs, and MIB led 57-20 by halftime.
Ely managed only 40 shots in the game and struggled to get things going, and the last nine minutes of the game were played with running time.
Neyens led with 22 points and teammate Sami Warwas poured in 15 with Aniya Thomas finishing with 14.
Junior Lydia Shultz led the Wolves with 13 points while Amelia Penke and Zoe MacKenzie contributed six points each. Lillie O’Neill was next with five.
• Ely dominated at home during a Jan. 30 matchup with Cherry, putting up big numbers in a 66-28 victory over the Tigers.
Shultz wound up with a game-high 23 points to go with seven steals and seven rebounds, and Penke flirted with a double, coming up with nine points and nine rebounds.
Ruby Lowe was proficient from long-range, connecting on four threepoint baskets and netting 14 points for the evening.
O’Neill also buried a couple of three-point shots and finished with 10 points and four rebounds. MacKenzie added six points.
• A Feb. 10 home game with Silver Bay has been moved to the North Shore, while the Wolves make their final home regular season appearance on Thursday, Feb. 12, celebrating Senior Night with a home matchup against North Woods.
