×

Braves defend against Redettes

Todd Rose | Daily Press Alaina Trudeau (21) of Gladstone takes a shot as Marquette’s Zoe Smith (23) and Arimae Holder (14) defend Thursday night in Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — A rough and tumble defensive battle went the way of the Gladstone Braves girls’ basketball team (6-1) Thursday night as they defeated the Marquette Redmen (2-7) 37-30 in Gladstone.

“Our defense side of things, it looked good,” said Braves coach Andy Cretens. “We’ve been doing that most of the year. Especially the last two weeks, our defense has looked outstanding.”

A two-point basket from Megan Crow in the fourth quarter put the Braves up 33-22 with just over 5:30 left to play.

However, Marquette staged an uninterrupted eight-point run to close the deficit to three points. It was all they could do, though, as Gladstone held them there for the final 2:30.

A basket and free throw from Crow and a free throw from Ahna Larson made it 37-30 when the buzzer rang.

Cretens mentioned Larson as one of the Braves’ key players on defense in the win.

“Ahna Larson’s been doing a great job,” he said. “She did a great on (Maria) Millado in the post today. She’s a good player down there and athletic, and I thought Ahna did an outstanding job on her tonight down there.”

As Gladstone enters the latter half of its season, Cretens says staying healthy will be a challenge. It’s one the Braves are all too familiar with.

“We’ve had so many injuries over the last four years. It’s something we’re kind of getting used to,” he said. “We’re used to that adversity and used to having other girls have to step up.”

Another player Cretens mentioned was Jamisyn Bergeron, who stepped in for a shaken-up Veronica Hall to shoot three free throws. She made all three, though the third was taken away due to a violation.

“It’s a testament to her because she’s been taking pride in what she’s doing, and she’s been coming in early before school working on her shots and getting extra reps,” said Cretens. “It showed right there.”

Crow, who is approaching 1,000 career points, led the Braves in scoring with 20 points.

Marquette coach Ben Smith said the game was a bit of a regression compared to where the team had been recently.

“Compared to what we were doing at the start of the year, we’ve been doing things noticeably better,” Smith said. “I think tonight we reverted a little bit back to a few too many cheap and easy turnovers … a few of those, we just have to throw to us.

“This whole stretch has been trying to figure out how to efficiently do things on both ends of the court.”

Smith was happy with Averie Kelly’s performance. She had the tall task of defending Megan Crow. He also mentioned sophomore Megan MacPhee — who the Redmen have been utilizing with the five-quarter ruler — Olivia McMahon and Hannah Young as players he was impressed with.

“We’re definitely doing some things right,” said Smith.

Maria Millado led Marquette in several categories with nine points, eight rebounds and seven steals.

Marquette — who won the JV game 50-26 — hosts Negaunee on Monday while the Braves head to Westwood today to take on the Patriots.

Marquette 4 11 6 9 — 30

Gladstone 10 11 6 10 — 37

Marquette — Millado 9, Warchock 6, Kelly 5, Michelin 4, Puskala 4, Young 2; F: 12; FT: 8-13; Fouled out: None.

Gladstone — Crow 20, van Ginhoven 5, Trudeau 5, Hanson 4, Bergeron 2, Larson 1; F: 17; FT: 5-12; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: van Ginhoven, Trudeau.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today