Big Gladstone Comeback Falls Short In Marquette

MARQUETTE---The Gladstone High School girls basketball team trimmed a 13-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter, but the Marquette Redettes pulled away down the stretch to post a 49-38 win Tuesday night in Marquette.

Leigha Woelffer did all she could to keep the Braves in the game, scoring a game-high 27 points, including making twlve of 14 free throws.

But after Gladstone closed to within two points early in the fourth quarter, the Braves committed four straight turnovers and the Redettes put the game away by making 11 of 15 free throws in the final minutes.

"I'm awful rpoud of our defensive effort and our hustle," Gladstone Coach Karl Dollhopf said. "It's been there all year. Where it's not clicking is on the offensive end. We're just not in sync yet. It's early in the year, and I understand that. We're going to get better offensively. But defensively, I like the way that we're getting after it."

Marquette went on a spurt in the second quarter as Terese Ledy scored ten points and Izabelle Peterson drained a three-pointer. That gave the Redettes a 25-12 lead . But Woelffer rattled home a three of her own and Caitlyn Leisner scored a basket from in the paint, and Gladstone was within 26-17 at the halftime break.

The third quarter belonged to the Braves, especially defensively. Woelffer scored nine more points, and Taylor Hunter and Paige Loehr each scored baskets. The comeback saw the Braves trailing the Redettes by just two, 32-30, after the end of the third.

The Braves had several possessions in which they had a chance to tie the game, or take the lead with a three-pointer, but a couple of traveling calls and forced shots kept them behind by two.

It was 34-32 Marquette with seven minutes to play when the Redettes got an Amber Huebner basket, a steal, and six free throws. The Braves turned it over three straight times during that sequence, and Marquette had a 40-32 lead.

Gladstone closed to within 41-36 on a Woelffer driving bank shot with 2:29 left, but the Redettes worked it down low to Kelly Grange for a baseline layup to rebuild a seven point lead. The Braves did not score again until the closing seconds.

"That's where we need to get better," Dollhopf said. "I told the kids that part of that falls on me. I need to get better at preparing them offensively. But you know what? A credit to them defensively and the effort that they gave. There's nothing out there that we can't correct. When you have that kind of effort, and a positive attitude, the other stuff will come."

Woelffer's 27 points led all scorers.

"She does a realy good job of getting the defender off-balance," Dollhopf said. "She's shifty. She's got a change of speed and a change of direction that 's pretty good. She's not the fastest person out there, but she's smart. She understands how to get the defender off-balance, and when she got to the foul line, she did a great job of converting."

Marquette (2-1) got 15 points from Ledy and 14 apiece from Huebner and Grange.

Gladstone (1-2) will host Ishpeming Thursday night. Game time is 7:15. Catch the broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mike Dagenais.