Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Gladstone’s Jamisyn Bergeron (3) attempts a hook shot over Iron Mountain’s Emma Ellis (10) Monday in Gladstone during an MHSAA Division 3 District 66 girls basketball opener.

GLADSTONE — Despite a solid victory Friday, the outcome of an MHSAA Division 3 District 66 Girls Basketball District opener between Gladstone and Iron Mountain looked like it might swing the Mountaineers’ way here Monday.

However, the Braves found a solution at halftime and topped Iron Mountain again 46-37 to advance to the district semifinals against Menominee in Menominee Wednesday.

Trailing by two after the first quarter, the Braves (9-14) and Mountaineers traded the lead back and forth until the final seconds of the second when Gladstone’s Jamisyn Bergeron drained a triple to put it up 21-17 as the teams entered the locker room.

“It was big,” Braves coach Andy Cretens said. “We’ve talked about in the past, we always seem to give up a basket at that point — at the end of the half or the quarter, and it’s nice for us to be able to do that. It’s weird how it works, but it just gives you a lot of momentum going into the locker room. One shot can change a lot in that moment.”

The trey was the fulcrum for the Braves’ victory as the Mountaineers faltered on offense in the third quarter.

“We just couldn’t hit any of our shots for some reason,” Mountaineers coach Karen Ellis said. “One of our starters (Anslee Runsat) had an injury early on, and that kind of took the chemistry and flow of the game away from us. (She’s) our only senior. She’s a leader on the court, and it kind of took the wind out of our sails for a little bit there.”

Just over a minute into the third, Gladstone’s Chloe Hanson hit a triple to push its lead to 24-17.

16 seconds later, the Mountaineers’ Ellison Powell took a stand at the charity stripe but only knocked down one of two.

WIth 4:01 left in the third, Gladstone had extended its lead to 30-20.

“We had a lot of girls (step up tonight),” Cretens said. “We had a lot of girls do some really good things We knew they were going to take her (Claire van Ginhoven) away. Last time, they did a box-and-1 on her last week, and this week they kind of threw a diamond-and-1. That kind of threw us off a bit. We threw a couple different offenses at it, and we just tried to figure out which would work best for us. Once we got into halftime, we were able to get some new things put in and talk about some things that can be opened. That really helped us. We came out after halftime with some better options.”

An Iron Mountain timeout allowed a switch-up, and the Mountaineers held the Braves to a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought but couldn’t capitalize despite increased defensive fervor, including a three-quarter court, sprinting block from Iron Mountain’s Anja Kleiman.

“I’m happy with all of their play tonight,” Ellis said. “I just wish more of our shots went in. Overall, I’m very ecstatic that we had Chloe Maycroft and Anya Kleiman right on Claire, and to hold her to eight points was really good.”

The positions flipped in the last minute and a half of the third, with Gladstone going on a 5-0 run to lead 35-23 at the end of the quarter.

In the fourth, the Braves made the most of bonus shots and matched Mountaineers’ scoring efforts to seal the game.

The first half was nip and tuck, with Gladstone trailing 12-7 after a triple from Iron Mountain’s Emma Ellis 1:12 into the second.

“I think it was postseason jitters,” Cretens said. “The emotions were a lot higher. Getting that first game out of the way is important. Just getting that first quarter or half under your belt. I think we’ve got an advantage in that aspect going into Menominee because we’ve got one postseason win under the belt.”

Hanson led the Braves with 13 points, and Aliana Martinez pulled down a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

“Aliana Martinez got 12 total rebounds,” Cretens said. “She made a big difference in the game. We talked before the game about how, my first year coaching, we had a player break out in the first district game. She had four offensive rebound putbacks in the first quarter, it was Taylor Hunter, and we asked who that player is going to be tonight. That was the difference-maker for us. We needed it, and she was doing exactly what we needed her to do.”

The Mountaineers were led by Ellison Powell with 21, and senior Runsat chipped in 10.

“We’re really going to miss her next year,” coach Ellis said. “She’s a leader on the court and a leader off the court. It’s really going to affect our game, but I’m very happy that I was able to coach her. She did a great job.”

Gladstone visits Menominee today for a district semifinal.

“Traditionally they run a 2-3 zone, so we’ve got to kind of prepare for that,” Cretens said. “But, we know they can change that up in the postseason. They’re not going to sleep on because of that time we beat them a few years ago.

“We just have to go out there and have some fun. We’ve got nothing to lose, and the pressure is all on them.”

The Mountaineers finished the season at 7-14.

Iron Mountain 9 8 6 14 — 37

Gladstone 7 14 14 11 — 46

Iron Mountain — Powell 21, Runsat 10, Ellis 3, Kleiman 3. FT: 3-9; F: 20; Fouled out: Ellis; 3-point field goals: Powell 2, Runsat 1, Ellis 1.

Gladstone — Hanson 13, Martinez 10, van Ginhoven 8, Schone 8, Bergeron 5, Hall 2. FT: 12-20; F: 11; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Hanson 2, Bergeron 1, Schone 1.