Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Gladstone’s Megan Crow (left) drives past Menominee’s Jenna Nolde Friday at Gladstone. Crow scored 22 points on her 17th birthday to lead the Braves to a 50-49 win.

GLADSTONE — All Gladstone sophomore Megan Crow wanted for her 17th birthday was a Braves’ victory over Menominee. She got one.

The Braves (5-7, 2-4) came back from a 13-0 deficit to start the game to narrowly clip the Maroons 50-49 in a Great Northern Conference girls basketball game here Friday.

The Braves took their first lead of the game at 39-37 on a three-point play by the 6-foot-3 Crow with 7:08 remaining.

The Maroons (9-5, 1-4 GNC) battled back to regain the lead at 43-39 on back-to-back triples by Josie Hofer and Jenna Nolde with 6:16 left in the contest, but Braves’ freshman guard Torie Zeise went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the period to lead the Braves to a 50-43 lead with just 2:22 left.

“The play of the game was Torie Zeise’s free throw shooting,” Braves’ coach Andy Cretens said. “That’s not easy to do for a freshman.”

The Maroons, who hit 11 treys for the game, fought back in the closing minutes with threes from Makenzie Wellner and Erin Barrette. Barrette’s triple came with 32 seconds left to close the gap to 50-49 and the Maroons forced a turnover with their full court press to get the ball back with 26 ticks remaining.

After working the ball around, Barrette’s shot missed, but Emma Hofer was there for the offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback attempt by Gladstone’s Maddie Ahlgren with three seconds to play. Emma Hofer missed both free throws, but neither team could handle the rebound and the ball went out of bounds off of Crow, setting up one last chance for Menominee with a second left.

The Maroons called a timeout and Barrette got a look from just behind the arc, but the shot fell short as time expired.

“We were trying to get the ball to Emma (Anderson) off the inbounds, but Erin had an excellent opportunity,” Maroons’ coach Lucas Chouinard said. “It was a good look in that situation.”

Crow got her birthday wish, as the Braves rallied after trailing 13-0 with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

“I’m very competitive, so I told the girls the best birthday gift I can get is a win over Menominee,” Crow said. “We don’t want to lose our winning streak. It’s our grit. I emphasized to them we need to grind it out. It’s just one game on a Friday night, so let’s give it all we have for one hour. We don’t give up.”

It was the fourth win in a row for the Braves, who started out 1-7.

They also beat the Maroons in the first match-up at Menominee Jan. 22.

“We’re on a great stretch right now,” Cretens said. “I think it’s all about the character of our girls. They have each others backs, they don’t turn on each other when things go bad. Our mental toughness has gotten so much better. You can see it in their body language.”

Crow led the Braves with 22 points.

“Megan does a lot of everything for us. Even though she’s only a sophomore, every girl looks at her as the leader of this team.”

The Maroons started the game with a dominant full court press, but couldn’t sustain their success.

“The biggest thing is we were patient with our shots in the first quarter, which allowed us to get in our press,” Chouinard said. “We shot 31 threes tonight, so I told the girls you live and die by the three. It’s a great learning experience.”

Barrette and Wellner led the Maroons with 10 points each and Emma Hofer hit a half-court shot to beat the halftime buzzer.

Menominee, which won the jayvee game, visits Crandon, Wis. Tuesday. The Braves host Ishpeming Tuesday.

Menominee 13 16 8 12 — 49

Gladstone 3 15 18 14 — 50

Menominee — E. Hofer 8, S. Barrette 3, E. Barrette 10, Wellner 10, J. Hofer 6, Anderson 7, Nolde 5. F: 19; FT: 2-6; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: E. Hofer 2, E. Barrette 2, Wellner 2, J. Hofer 2, S. Barrette, Anderson, Nolde. 11 total

Gladstone — Zeise 6, Balenger 4, Ahlgren 6, Servant 6, LaFave 4, Trudeau 2, Crow 22. F: 10; FT: 12-16; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goal: Ahlgren.