Huge Comeback Leads Braves Past Flivvers, 41-40

KINGSFORD---For two-and-a-half quarters, the Gladstone High School girls basketball team played some of their worst basketball of the season against the Kingsford Flivvers.

But then, the wake-up call came, and the Braves rallied from a 15-point deficit to stun the Flivvers, 41-40, Tuesday night in Kingsford. Taylor Hunter's free throw with 1.2 seconds left in the game broke a tie and sent the Braves to the conference win.

"I thought the girls played extremely well and hard, and I'm real proud of them," Gladstone Coach Karl Dollhopf said. "We played good defense. We just needed to start scoring some points, and when we got closer to them, more energy started to build."

"It's not so much the win, it's how we won, and coming back, the kids staying together."

Gladstone trailed the entire night.

The Braves could not make a free throw, making just one of eight in the first half. They were being outrebounded. There were numerous turnovers. Jumpers weren't falling, and they couldn't get the ball inside.

Kingsford led, 22-9, until Ashley Edwardsen nailed a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to cut the deficit to 22-12 at the half. Still, in the third quarter, the Flivvers were in complete control, sprinting out to a 15-point lead, with Hannah Carlson scoring six inside points. But the Braves started to chip away, with Leigha Woelffer scoring seven points in the third quarter after scoring just two points in the first half.

Gladstone clowed to within six, 33-27, entering the fourth quarter.

And the momentum continued to build in the first minutes of the final quarter, as Woelffer had two steals and baskets in a row to tie the game at 35-35.

Dollhopf, who had used four time outs to try to spark his team throughout the game, held his final one until 1:38 was left on the clock.

And the Braves took their first lead at 40-38 with 51 seconds to play when Edwardsen got loose down the lane for a basket.

Kingsford, however, attacked the basket, and Jordyn Kriegel made a pair of free throws with 51.2 aeconds to play. The Flivvers called time out, and Dollhopf designed a play to kill the clock...with no time-outs remaining...and go for the last shot. They got the ball into Hunter and she was fouled with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.

"In that situation, what you don't want to do is shoot too early," Dollhopf said. "Once you get it under ten (seconds), you're committed. You're all in. I thought the girls, knowing that they were in the double bonus, got something good."

"I thought Tasi (Martinez) could have easily taken the jump shot, but she saw Taylor there, and had confidence in her teammate. You know, that's great."

Hunter had missed her only other two foul shots, but she made this one count.

"It was a lot of pressure," Hunter said. "I knew I had to make at least one, so I was just hoping I'd make the first one and get it out of the way."

Kingsford called time out after Hunter missed the second one, but with 0.6 seconds left in the game, the Flivvers could not get a good shot off.

And Gladstone won by a single point for the second straight game, after also beating Negaunee on the road by one. Woelffer led the Braves with 15 points, while Carlson scored 14 for Kingsford. The Braves improved to 10-8 on the season, while Kingsford fell to 11-8. Gladstone closes the regular season on Thursday with a home game against Iron Mountain. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and www.rrnsports.com

Click the above headline to hear post-game interviews, and to see photos and videos taken by Mike Dagenais.