Gladstone senior Lillie Johnson goes to the basket for a layup against Manistique on Jan. 9, 2026 at Gladstone High School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone girls left nothing to chance here Friday night as they took care of business quickly in a 74-27 basketball victory over the Manistique Emeralds.

Gladstone featured a potent 1-2 offensive punch in this Mid-Peninsula Conference outing as senior Lillie Johnson poured in 30 points in 2½ quarters prior to taking a seat on the bench for the remainder of the game. Junior Eva Pankonien finished with a career-high 23.

The Braves grabbed a 33-9 lead at the end of the first quarter on Pankonien’s jump shot from the left corner and extended it to 56-13 on a putback by Johnson 12 seconds before halftime.

“Our goal was to take care of business,” Braves’ coach Andy Cretens said. “If you want to do well in the post-season, you have to take every game seriously. Eva attacked the rim real well. She was more aggressive tonight and Lillie is one of a kind who can make anything happen.”

The Braves, who substituted freely in the second half, led 71-16 following Pankonien’s floater from the lane early in the fourth frame.

“This is kind of what I expected and was afraid of,” Emeralds’ coach Dan Giles said. “They’ve got the toughness. This was only our fourth game. Right now, just about everything is completely a learning experience. We knew it was going to be hard, but there’s a lot of potential and opportunity for growth on our team.”

Manistique’s best run took place in the fourth quarter when it scored seven unanswered points.

“They’re pretty young and were missing a couple girls,” Cretens said.

The Emeralds, who started two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman, committed 21 turnovers. The Braves finished with seven.

Freshman Audrina Kaiser was Manistique’s leading scorer with eight points. Junior Adele Ostlund added seven for the Braves, who improved to 7-2 overall with their fourth straight win and 3-0 in the M-PC. The Emeralds fell to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the league.

Gladstone, which also won the jayvee game 56-8, hosts Marquette Tuesday. The Emeralds travel to Munising Tuesday.

Manistique 9 4 3 11 — 27

Gladstone 33 23 13 5 — 74

Manistique — Kangas 4, Erickson 4, Davis 5, Spettel 6, Kaiser 8. FT: 1-2; F: 9; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Davis, Spettel.

Gladstone — Blowers 4, Quigley 5, Bracket 2, Pankonien 23, Sundquist 1, Ostlund 7, Reynolds 1, Zoli 1, Johnson 30. FT: 8-14; F: 6; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Pankonien 3, Johnson 3.