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MENOMINEE -- The Menominee girls basketball team's defense set the tone early in the Maroons' 47-23 victory over Gladstone in the semifinal round of MHSAA District play on Wednesday.
The Maroons advance to the District championship game tonight, with Menominee traveling to Bark River-Harris (14-6).
Menominee (14-6) held the Braves to just a single point in the first quarter and never allowed Gladstone's offense to get into rhythm, allowing the Braves to sink just seven shots from the field.
The Maroons jumped out to a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter and seized a 26-11 halftime advantage with the help of nine points from Anna Axtell.
Menominee's offense didn't hit its stride until the fourth quarter, where Kennedy Olson dropped six of her 13 points, while Rylee Doyle knocked down a 3-pointer to help the Maroons turn a 34-20 lead into a 24-point blowout.
"I thought we came out of the gates very well defensively. Holding any team to one point in a quarter shows that we did a lot of good things defensively, and that propelled us," Menominee coach Lucas Chouinard said. "We were getting great shots down in the paint. We just weren't able to cash in on them in the early going. We stuck with our plan of playing inside-out, and I thought the girls did a great job of executing tonight."
Aliana Martinez led Gladstone (9-13) with 10 points, while Tia Schone backed her up with nine.
"No one can hang their head because we competed and tonight wasn't about a lack of effort," Braves coach Andy Cretens said. "We just don't match up well with Menominee. They have a lot of length, a lot of size and we don't have much of those things. We had a hard time seeing over the top of their zone, and they cover so much space.
"We knew that we were going to have to knock down quite a few shots, and tonight, we just didn't make the shots that we needed to."
Anna Nerat opened the game on a personal 5-0 run while Olsen chipped in three points as Menominee quickly took an 8-0 lead. Martinez hit a free throw to get the Braves off the schneid with 19 seconds remaining in the quarter before a bucket from Axtell gave the Maroons a 10-1 cushion.
Martinez poured in five points as the Braves cut Menominee's lead in half midway through the second quarter, but a triple by Doyle along with seven points from Axtell helped the Maroons take a 15-point halftime lead.
Nerat scored six points in the third quarter while the Braves countered with four points from Veronica Hall and a trey off the fingertips of Schone, making it a 34-20 contest in favor of Menominee entering the fourth quarter.
The Maroons reeled off seven unanswered points to kick off the final frame before a free throw by Schone cut Gladstone's deficit to 20 with four minutes remaining.
Back-to-back baskets compliments of Olson coupled with a midrange jumper by Hanna Drifka pushed the Maroons' advantage to 26, while Schone knocked down a jumper of her own for the final points of the evening.
Nerat and Olson each finished with 13 points for Menominee. Doyle added six while Drifka, Madison Derusha and Piper Monroe all tacked on two.
The Maroons' next task is getting past a feisty Broncos team that edged Munising 43-40 on Wednesday.
"As long we continue to play good, sound team basketball on offense and defense, I like our chances," Chouinard said. "We know that they love their basketball up there, and they've had a great girls' program for many, many years. We're looking forward to being able to play the district final up there."
Tonight's contest tips off at 7 p.m.
Gladstone 1 10 9 3 -- 23
Menominee 10 16 8 13 -- 47
Gladstone: Martinez 10, Schone 9, Hall 4; FTs: 6-10.
Menominee: Nerat 13, Olson 13, Axtell 9, Doyle 6, Derusha 2, Drifka 2, Monroe 2; FTs: 3-4.