Vermilion women carry on with five

The Vermilion Ironhawks are living up to their name.

In their last two contests, the community college women’s basketball team has suited up the bare minimum of five players.

Despite that obstacle, the Ironhawks were competitive for a half Wednesday, leading Gogebic 34-30 at the break only to run out of gas in the final two quarters.

The Lady Samsons got 23 points from Brooke Stanislawski while rallying to score an 86-55 win.

Vermilion lost forward Angie Schuchardt to fouls early on and had to play the entire second half with four players.

Gogebic responded with 56 second-half points and took control of the contest.

The Lady Samsons enjoyed a massive edge on the boards, with Annabelle Besonen snaring 14 to go with her seven points.

Tamia Cahee scored a game-high 25 points for Vermilion and added 16 rebounds to secure a double- double.

Amyia Yunker added 11 points while Vermilion’s Destiny Gonzalez had six points and 10 rebounds.

• Iowa powerhouse Ellsworth blew out the visiting Ironhawks 107-36 on Monday, building a 28-3 lead in the opening quarter.

Cahee poured in 21 points to lead Vermilion while Ny’Jai Wright and Yunker added six points each.

Vermilion returns to league play today at Mesabi.