IRON MOUNTAIN – The Gladstone Braves (3-1) girls basketball team earned their third win of the season Thursday night as they beat the Iron Mountain Mountaineers (1-3) 45-30 Thursday night in Iron Mountain.

“I was very pleased with how we moved the ball the first three quarters,” Braves coach Andy Cretens said. “It was our best team effort of the season, and we feel like it was a great step forward for us tonight.

Claire Van Ginhoven nailed five three-point shots to anchor the Braves with a total of 17 points on the night, while Veronica Hall also hit double digits with 11 points. Defensively, Jamisyn Bergeron and Chloe Hanson made things difficult for the Iron Mountain offense.

“Claire seemed to get us going but our forwards – Aliana (Martinez), Veronica, and Sophia (Rosa) – really sparked us is the second as they knocked down some big shots against their zone defense,” Cretens said. “Again, Chloe and Jamisyn did a great job on the defensive end for us all night. Jamisyn continues to frustrate the opposing team’s point guards, and Chloe does an outstanding job guarding the opposing team’s best scorer each night.

“Additionally, Tia (Schone) kept her streak alive of providing us with a spark off the bench – utilizing the 5th quarter rule. She has played with great confidence for us and has done some really nice things on both ends of the floor.”

After ending the first quarter with a four-point lead, 11-7, Gladstone opened up the scoring in the second and third quarters as they doubled the Mountaineers’ points in the second (14-7) and more than tripled them in the third (13-4).

Cretens added that while the team improved their rebounding – an area in which they struggled their last game – he hopes the team can improve their closure of games.

“We do not feel great about how we closed it out (tonight), but we discussed after the game how it is early in the season, and this can be a great learning experience for us,” he said. “We know we need to do a better job finishing games in the future.”

The Braves have one game against Marquette next week on Monday before taking eight days off for winter break.

Gladstone 11 14 13 7 – 45

Iron Mountain 7 7 4 12 – 30

Gladstone – van Ginhoven 17, Hall 11, Schone 5, Hanson 4, Rosa 4, Martinez 4; FT: 9-13; Fouled out: Bergeron, Martinez; 3-point field goals: van Ginhoven 5, Hanson.

Iron Mountain – Runsat 11, Kleiman 9, Bianco 3, Powell 3, Maycroft 3, Bal 2; FT: 9-15; Fouled out: Ellis; 3-point field goals: Powell, Bianco.