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Hematites clip Braves

Mike Mattson | Daily Press Gladstone’s Maddie Ahlgren, left, makes a bounce pass to teammate Taylor Hunter (20) in the third quarter Monday at Gladstone. Ishpeming defenders are Katie Loman (4) and Chloe Sjoholm.

GLADSTONE — Ishpeming warmed up for next week’s district tournament with a solid 57-41 win Monday against the Gladstone girls basketball team.

Khora Swanson scored 24 points as the Hematites led from start to finish in the non-conference contest.

“We were about to get a bigger lead, but I thought Gladstone did a good job of not letting us extend the lead,” Ishpeming coach Ryan Reichel said. “They did a good job of making us work on the defensive end. I thought in the fourth quarter we did some good things and the defense got us going.”

Swanson did her part on defense too, playing a key role in limiting Gladstone guard Alyssa Polley to three points. Senior Leigha Woelffer sparked the Braves with 21 points and four steals.

“We held them to 41 points, but I thought we could have done a better job on Woelffer,” Reich said. “She’s a good player.

“We did some nice things to wear down Polley. Khora did a nice job on her. Her effective defense got her going on offense.”

Swanson made all 10 of her free throws and the Hematites hit 15-of-23 for the game.

Ishpeming (15-3) led 17-9 after one quarter and relied on Swanson’s 17 points in the first half to take a 28-21 lead at intermission. The Braves, who were down by 13 points in the first half, had a key 8-0 run in the second quarter to pull within 25-20.

Gladstone (5-13) hurt itself by shooting 17-of-60 from the field for 28 percent, making only 6-of-15 free throws and committing 21 turnovers (15 in the first half).

“We had too many turnovers in the first half,” said Gladstone coach Eric Linden, whose team trailed 44-31 entering the fourth quarter. “We did a better job in the second half, but we dug ourselves a hole. We didn’t shoot well. We had a lot of good shots that didn’t go in.

“Ishpeming is a strong defensive team. They are 15-3 for a reason. But we have to make our free throws. We struggle at the line.”

Woelffer was the lone Brave to score in double figures. Kaitlyn Hardwick grabbed eight rebounds and Taylor Hunter had seven rebounds.

Lundin lauded Woelffer for a strong showing, which included 14 first-half points.

“She attacked the rim well,” Lundin said. “She has a good roll dribble. In the middle of the year, she played five games with a hand injury. She’s healthy now. She’s confident in her shot, ball handling and the way she attacks the rim.”

Marissa Maino chipped in with 13 points for the Hematites, who have multiple scoring options.

“Maino scored 26 points in our last game,”Reichel said. “We have a balanced scoring attack, so we are tougher to guard.”

Gladstone, which lost the jayvee game 46-25, hosts Kingsford tonight.

Ishpeming 17 9 16 13 — 57

Gladstone 9 12 10 10 — 41

Ishpeming — Austin 13, Asgaard 7, Loman 2, Smith 2, Swanson 24, Longtime 1, Maino 8. FT: 15-23; F; 13; Fouled out; none; 3-point field goals: Austin, Swanson 2, Maino.

Gladstone — Polley 3, Spaulding 1, Ahlgren 2, Zeise 2, Hardwick 4, Hunter 6, Woelffer 21, Martinez 2. FT; 6-15; F: 20; Fouled out: none. 3-point field goals: Woelffer.

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