Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Gladstone’s Tia Schone (21) drives against Negaunee’s Summer Dudo (left) Friday at Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone girls had trouble putting the basketball through the hoop here Friday night in a 60-26 loss to the Miners.

Negaunee led 21-4 after the first quarter and 33-17 at halftime of this Mid-Peninsula Conference contest.

“They shot real well,” said Braves coach Andy Cretens. “We had a lot of good looks, but our shots didn’t fall. We didn’t do a good enough job attacking their (tight man-to-man) defense. We expected it, but we didn’t execute. We let them be the aggressor.”

Negaunee raced to a 14-0 lead and stretched it to 21-2 on a jump shot from the boulevard and free throw by senior guard Lilly Nelson with 22 seconds left in the opening frame.

The Miners (2-0 overall and M-PC) extended their lead to 25-4 on a floater from the lane by sophomore point guard Ella Mason 57 seconds into the second stanza.

Mason added a 20-foot jumper for a 30-9 cushion with three minutes remaining in the second before freshman guard Tia Schone, who also played in the JV game, sank a 20-foot jumper from the right wing and another from the left corner to bring the Braves within 30-15.

Negaunee then hiked its advantage to 33-15 on Mason’s jumper from the top of the key shortly before halftime.

“We got out of the gates real well,” said Negaunee coach Mike O’Donnell. “I’m pleased with how we locked into our game plan. We transitioned well from offense to defense and defense to offense. Their kids are seated under the basket, which sometimes makes it a little hard to communicate, but I thought our girls did a good job figuring things out. We have a sophomore running the show, and she did an excellent job. This was a good experience for us. We need to get used to this type of environment.”

After senior Claire van Ginhoven drained a pair of free throws to start the third quarter, the Miners answered with another 14-0 run, including a floater from the lane by Mason for an insurmountable 47-17 advantage with 3:38 remaining in the third.

Negaunee gained its biggest advantage at 55-20 on a putback by junior forward Eliana Juchemich early in the fourth.

Finlandia recruit van Ginhoven drained 28 straight free throws to open this season before missing one with 3:50 left to play. She led the Braves (1-1 overall and league) with 13 points.

“Claire puts in a lot of time in,” said Cretens. “Only, she didn’t hit from the field tonight, and that hurt us. We’re confident we can play with anybody. We just have to work on our weaknesses. We have the ability. We know exactly what we have to do.”

Mason paced the Miners with 16 points. Senior forward Alyssa Hill added 12, and senior guard Summer Dudo had 10.

Gladstone committed 21 turnovers, and Negaunee had 18.

“We did a lot of switching in our man-to-man,” said O’Donnell. “We knew Claire was going to be their main focus. We were well aware what she did Tuesday night (scoring 38 points in a 60-42 victory at Gwinn). We wanted to know where she was at all times and tried to keep the ball out of her hands. She’s a pure shooter, but we didn’t let her get comfortable.”

Negaunee, which won the JV game 45-28, visits Escanaba Tuesday. Gladstone hosts Ishpeming Thursday.

Negaunee 21 12 19 8 — 60

Gladstone 4 13 2 7 — 26

Negaunee — Smith 2, Nelson 5, Dudo 10, Mason 16, Prusi 2, Gauthier 2, Atkins 5, Hill 12, Juchemich 6. FT: 5-9; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Mason 2, Atkins.

Gladstone — van Ginhoven 13, Hanson 4, Bergeron 2, Schone 6, Martinez 1. FT: 13-17; F: 9; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Schone 2, Hanson.