GLADSTONE — It’s no secret that 6-foot-10 center Megan Crow is Gladstone’s catalyst.

But Wednesday night it was junior guard Maddie Ahlgren with a season-high 18 points in a 50-35 Mid-Peninsula Conference win over Iron Mountain.

Ahlgren hit timely shots and finished 5 of 5 at the free throw line to lead the Braves to the win.

“Maddie had one of her best games of the season,” Braves’ coach Andy Cretens said. “I got on her for needing to shoot free throws better and she went 5 for 5 so that was great to see.”

Crow added 16 points for the Braves

Reagan Lundholm led Iron Mountain with 14 points. Saylor Swartout added 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Iron Mountain’s catalyst, senior Riley Poupore, left the game Feb. 15 against Kingsford. She was diagnosed with a torn ACL and is out for the rest of the season.

The Braves (10-8, 6-4 MPC) had to overcome a slow start to pull this one out.

After Alaina Trudeau scored the game’s first point for the Braves on a free throw, the Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter.

The Braves responded from a slow start with a 12-4 run, capped by a layup from Ahlgren to retake the lead at 13-12 with 6:36 left in the first half.

They continued their strong play the rest of the half and into the third quarter, particularly on the defensive end. They held the Moutaineers (7-13, 4-8 MPC) to just seven points in the second period and five in the third to take a 34-24 lead into the fourth.

“For us, the biggest key was our defense,” Cretens said. “That’s what we hang our hat on. We did a good job battling back and held them to seven and five points in the second and third quarter.”

Mountaineers’ coach Katelynn Grenier echoed those comments.

“Sometimes 13 points isn’t good enough for a quarter and that’s what we had in the second and third quarter combined,” Grenier said. “It hurts to not have our top scorer, but give Gladstone credit. They worked the ball around well and Ahlgren does a good job finishing.”

The Mountaineers trimmed their deficit to 37-33 on a layup by Swartout with 3:16 remaining.

Ahlgren responded with a bucket for the Braves on their next possession, and they were able to ice the game by going 10-12 at the charity stripe during the final frame.

Junior guard Taelor Zeise made her first appearance for the Braves, finishing with three points. She broke a finger on her shooting hand and was out for seven months.

The Mountaineers, who won the JV game 34-28, host West Iron County in their district opener March 6. Gladstone visits Negaunee on Tuesday.

Iron Mountain 12 7 5 11 — 35

Gladstone 8 16 10 16 — 50

IRON MOUNTAIN (35): Lundholm 14, Swartout 10, Ellis 7, Thomann 2, Stoner 2. F: 13; FT: 11-16 (Bal fouled out). 3PT: Lundholm 1, Ellis 1.

GLADSTONE (50): Ahlgren 18, Crow 16, Trudeau 4, Torie Zeise 4, Taelor Zeise 3, LaFave 3, Servant 2. F: 15. FT: 18-21. 3PT: Ahlgren 1, Taelor Zeise 1.