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Big Third Quarter Propels Houghton Past Gladstone
 GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School girls basketball team was still stinging Tuesday from last week's overtime loss to the Westwood Patriots, and the Houghton Gremlins were a bit sluggish after a long bus ride from the Copper Country. That combination led to a very close first half between the two teams, with the Braves hoping for an upset of the U.P.'s top-ranked team. But the Gremlins came out fired up in the third quarter, pounded the ball inside, and pulled away for a 55-39 win in Gladstone.  That gave Houghton a 27-21 lead, and the Gremlins continued to make life tough on the Braves with pressure defense that forced a couple of turnovers. Houghton followed the 8-1 run with a 9-2 spurt, making it a 17-3 run all together, and giving the visitors a 36-23 lead. The Braves didn't give up, however, with Alyssa Polley draining a long three-pointer with 3:31 left in the game to cut the gap to 44-35. But the Gremlins salted the game away at the free throw line from there. Houghton improved to 6-0 on the season while Gladstone's record fell to 1-6. Houghton made 19-of-30 free throw attempts. Gladstone hit just 8-of-20 at the line, which was one of the factors in the girls being unable to pull off the upset.  The Gremlins' top player, Sloane Zenner, was held to just five points, but she made her presence known in other parts of the game, with several big blocked shots on the defensive end. Tawna Ryyanen scored nine points for Houghton. Leigha Woelffer led the Braves with 14 points, one day after U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow announced that she had nominated Woelffer for admission to the U.S. Academy at West Point. Tasi Martinez and Kaitlyn Hardwick each scored seven points. Houghton also won Tuesday's junior varsity contest, 50-33. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Nate Bellville.  |
