The victory sends the Miners (23-1) to Manistique where they were scheduled to face Petoskey (20-3) in a regional semifinal on Monday night.

Gladstone (19-5) led most of the first half before Negaunee grabbed a narrow 19-18 lead at the intermission.

The score was tied 25-25 midway through the third quarter before the Miners responded with seven unanswered points, going ahead on a short jump shot by senior Liliana Saunders.

Senior Claire O’Donnell gave the Miners a 29-25 lead on a five-foot jumper with 1:57 left in the third frame, while junior Keira Waterman added a layup and junior Gretel Johnson split a pair of free throws to put the Miners up 32-25.

Negaunee’s Priya Morey, left, passes the ball during a high school girls basketball game played against Westwood at the Miners’ gym in Negaunee on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Senior forward Lillie Johnson brought the Braves within five points on a four-foot jumper.

Gretel Johnson then sank a jumper from the boulevard to give the Miners a 34-27 lead.

“I think we came out pretty strong on offense in the second half and defense carried us,” Gretel Johnson said. “After what happened last year, everybody wanted it super bad. We played with a chip on our shoulder tonight.”

She was alluding to Gladstone ending Negaunee’s undefeated season a year ago in this same district championship tilt, 50-47, and also at its home Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium.

Although the Miners already had momentum starting the fourth quarter this time around, things really started to unravel for the Braves when Lillie Johnson went down with an ankle injury, though she was able to return with 4:39 remaining.

Unfortunately, that’s when Gladstone junior guard Eva Pankonien suffered what is believed to be a broken leg and was forced out.

“Lillie’s a great player,” Miners’ sophomore Paige O’Donnell said. “To see her go down didn’t feel good to me. I don’t know what kind of injury Eva has, but that wasn’t good to see either. I feel bad for them.”

By then, Negaunee had opened a 40-29 lead that was extended to 12 points on a gifter by Gretel Johnson.

Lillie Johnson, the Great Northern Conference Player of the Year, split a pair of free throws to make it 41-30 with 3:34 left that ended the scoring for Gladstone.

The victory served as redemption for these Miners after what happened almost exactly one year ago.

“You never forget something like that,” Paige O’Donnell said. “This definitely feels better than last year. Taking the lead right before the half definitely gave us momentum early in the third quarter. We decided we were going to do it for each other.”

Gladstone took an early 6-2 lead on Pankonien’s 22-foot jumper from the left wing and led 8-4 with 18 seconds left in the opening frame when Lillie Johnson stole the ball and converted a layup on the other end.

“We felt fortunate to go in at halftime up by a point,” Negaunee coach Mike O’Donnell said. “We were a little concerned when they got those two 3s early, but we got to the line and got some big offensive rebounds. I kind of felt the momentum shifted toward us before Lillie went down. Our team defense was amazing.

“Lillie is a real competitor. Gladstone made a nice adjustment in the second half. It was a chess match all night. Points were a premium. I’m a defensive coach and Andy (Cretens) is also a defensive coach.”

Gretel Johnson scored 17 points to go with five assists. Paige O’Donnell recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Waterman finished with eight points and seven boards.

Lillie Johnson collected 11 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, four assists and four steals in her final high school game. Ostlund added seven points.

The Braves committed 21 turnovers and the Miners had 15.

Gladstone 8 10 9 3 — 30

Negaunee 4 15 15 13 — 47

Individual scoring and team statistics

GLADSTONE — Blowers 3, Quigley 6, Pankonien 3, Ostlund 7, Johnson 11. FT: 6-14; Fouls: 15; Fouled out: None.

NEGAUNEE — P. O’Donnell 10, Rogers 2, Johnson 17, Saunders 4, Waterman 8, Park 2, Richards 2, C. O’Donnell 2. FT: 12-21; Fouls: 16; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goal: Johnson.