Gladstone, MI – December 6, 2019 – The Negaunee Miners Girls Basketball team traveled on the road for the first time this season against the Gladstone Braves. After having a double digit lead in the third quarter, the Miners survived a Gladstone comeback to pick up a signature 54-48 win. Jesse Anderson had the call from Gladstone on Sunny 101.9.
1st Half:
The Miners got off to a much better start offensively in game two of the season, taking a 6-4 lead in the first minutes of the game. A back and forth affair saw multiple lead changes before a Breanne Giotto bucket gave Negaunee a 9-7 advantage. Gladstone didn’t take long to show who its offense would run through, and that was center Megan Crow. Giotto and center Alyssa Hill did most of the scoring for the Miners, combining for nine of the team’s 11 points. In a tightly contested opening quarter, Negaunee led Gladstone by two points.
End of 1st: Negaunee Miners 11, Gladstone Braves 9
Negaunee’s second quarter didn’t begin quite as they hoped, as Morgan Carlson picked up her third foul. The Miners’ limited depth of eight players was going to be tested early. Lilly Nelson came off of the bench to sink a 3-pointer to give Negaunee a five-point lead until Gladstone’s Maddie Ahlgren answered back on the other end with a triple of her own. The Miners went on a quick 5-0 run behind a lay-up from Chloe Norman and 3-pointer from Nelson to extend the lead to seven points. Nelson would hit another 3-point shot to give her nine points in the first half, as well as her team a 22-14 lead. Just as Negaunee appeared to be in control in the final minute of the first half, Crow made her presence known with an and-one to cut Negaunee’s lead to only six points. Hill and Crow then traded baskets for their teams to end the half, and the Miners took a 26-20 lead into the locker room over Gladstone.
Halftime: Negaunee Miners 26, Gladstone Braves 20
2nd Half:
Negaunee picked up where they left off to begin the third quarter, as Norman’s drive to the bucket resulted in an and-one to boost the lead up to nine. The action began to be fast paced for both squads, and the Miners took its biggest lead of the game with a 35-24 advantage. The Braves weren’t going away however, as back-to-back made shots by Marnnea LaFave and Alaina Trudeau cut Negaunee’s lead to 35-28 halfway through the quarter. Turnovers by the Miners were costly, as Gladstone scored six more consecutive points to cut the lead to just 35-34. Giotto responded on the other end with a basket for Negaunee to bump the lead back up to three points. Crow also began getting things going, where she carved through the Negaunee zone defense for a lay-up. After a high scoring couple of minutes, the defense picked up towards the end of the quarter. In a very close game, the Miners hung on to a three-point lead over the Braves heading into the final quarter of play.
End of 3rd: Negaunee Miners 39, Gladstone Braves 36
Larissa Anderson kicked off the scoring in the final frame for Negaunee to extend the lead up to five points. The defense continued to play a factor for both sides, as the scoring really slowed down after the couple minutes of frantic play. Crow left the game momentarily due to injury but had an emphatic return with an and-one bucket. Negaunee remained in front with a four-point lead with under four minutes remaining. Carlson and Crow traded buckets to make the score 46-42 in favor of the Miners. After a Gladstone basket to cut the deficit to only two, Trudeau knocked down two free throws to tie the game at 46-46 with under three minutes left in regulation. Scoring began to pick up once more, as Hill and Crow scored for their teams respectively to tie the game at 48 with 1:30 left. Negaunee regained the lead behind two clutch free throws from Anderson with one minute to go. After making a huge defensive stop and wasting some clock, Negaunee extended the lead to 52-48 with 27 seconds left when Norman sank two free throws. Gladstone couldn’t connect on a 3-point try on the other end, and that would do it. Negaunee picked up a big 54-48 road win over the Gladstone Braves to advance to 2-0 on the season. Hill led the Miners in scoring with 17 points along with eight rebounds, and Norman added 13 points. Crow paced the Braves with 20 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Final Score: Negaunee Miners 54, Gladstone Braves 48
NEXT GAME: Catch the Negaunee Miners Girls Basketball team’s next game on Tuesday, Dec. 10, when they travel back to Delta County to take on the Escanaba Eskymos! Jesse Anderson will have all of the action on Sunny 101.9, with game time scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
LISTEN – FULL GAME – MINERS VS BRAVES ON SUNNY101.9
