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Lillie makes history: Johnson scores 1,000th career point, Gladstone knocks off Ishpeming in opener

Gladstone junior Lillie Johnson (21) follows through on a jump shot during a game against Ishpeming on Dec. 3, 2024 at Gladstone High School. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

GLADSTONE –A lot can happen in a 32-minute basketball game.

Shots can fall, passes can get deflected, student sections can come up with the most ludicrous cheer you can think of.

But with 49 seconds left in the third quarter of Tuesday’s girls’ basketball game between Gladstone and Ishpeming, time stood still.

After battling against multiple Hematite defenders in front of the net, junior Lillie Johnson connected for a basket inside the paint. On any given day it’s a routine layup for the 6 footer.

But this layup was a special one. This layup was Johnson’s 1,000th career point.

“Id definitely felt good,” Johnson said. “I got a little emotional. But yeah, it was a great feeling.”

Once the celebration subsided the Braves gave fans a second reason to cheer. After fending off a furious rally by the defending Division 4 state champions, Gladstone started its 2024-25 season at 1-0 with a 51-47 win.

“It’s a good test for the first game,” Braves head coach Andy Cretens said. “Obviously we did some good things, but we also have lots to work on. Tonight was a good tell on what things we need to work on.”

The Braves held claim to a 40-29 lead entering the fourth quarter. Then Hematites guard Janessa Eagle reminded everyone why she was one half of a two-headed back-court monster a year ago.

The junior hit a pair of triples and connected in the paint, eight critical points in an 14-8 run to claw within five points with under a minute to play.

With 27 seconds to go the Braves had a conundrum on their hands: bleed out the clock and win the game at the free throw line or be aggressive and attempt to knock down a big shot.

This decision can leave basketball purists in a passionate debate. But Braves sophomore Eva Pankonien put the debate to rest with a clutch 3-point shot to go up 51-43.

The Hematites got off two more baskets inside the arc, but it was too little too late. And after dropping both games to the Hematites by 15 and 18 points, respectively, the Braves earned a four-point win in their first game of the season.

As an added bonus, the Braves never trailed on Tuesday.

“We knew we had to shut down (Eagle). She’s a great shooter,” Johnson said. “If we could shut her down shooting we had a very good chance of winning the game.”

Johnson, who entered the game 20 points shy of 1,000, converted twice in the paint in the first quarter. The magic number shrank to 16 as Gladstone led 12-6.

Off a triple, a jumper, a hook shot and a step back mid-range jumper her number shrank to seven as the Braves led 25-15 at intermission. She then needed 30 seconds to shrink the magic number to five points. A successful shot beyond the arc with 2:28 remaining shrank the magic number to two points as the Braves led 35-26.

Then, in front of two defenders, Johnson connected inside the paint for her 1,000th career point, sending the home crowd into chaos. The game was paused to properly recognize the historic event.

“Lille does it with class,” Hematites coach Ryan Reichel said. “She’s not a selfish player. She can shoot every time and get her own rebound. Some kids get a bad (reputation) for shooting too much, but she does it the right way.

“It’s fun to watch her from afar. Just not when we’re competing against her.”

For the Braves, Tuesday’s season opener revealed that they need to find a consistent second and third scoring option.

Johnson finished with a team-best 25 points. Junior Addy Blowers was second in scoring with eight points, Pankonien added six and senior Macey Hanson totaled five points.

” It actually showed way more today than I realized, that we rely on (Johnson) to do too much for us,” Cretens said. “We have to have some other girls step up and want the ball in their hands. Today they didn’t really look like they wanted it. We have to do better with that.”

For the Hematities, Tuesday’s game had some good. It also had some bad, but not your average type of bad.

Correctable bad.

“It was expected going into this game that Gladstone was going to look seasoned,” Reichel said. “They returned their starting five. Then when you have Lillie Johnson, who’s like a Luka Doncic, an X-factor that can take over the game in spurts.”

Eagle earned 25 points and knocked down six shots from 3-point range. Senior Peyton Kakkuri added 15 points.

The Braves are currently schedule to host Ishpeming Westwood at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Ishpeming is currently slated to host Painesdale Jeffers at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Please check with dailypress.net to check the status of U.P. games with the latest impending winter storm approaching.

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