Inside game, defense work for Gilman

GILMAN 46, RIB LAKE 21

Tatum Weir and Emma Grunseth each recorded double-doubles to lead the Gilman girls basketball team past host Rib Lake 46-21 Tuesday night in non-conference play.

Weir scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds while Grunseth added 16 points and 12 rebounds in one of her top outings of the season. After six close minutes to start the game, Gilman took control with an 11-0 run that turned a 7-6 lead into an 18-6 first-half advantage.

Rib Lake hung around for a few minutes in the second half, but five points from Grunseth, including a 3-pointer and an assist from the junior on a bucket by Hannah Vick helped open up a 36-19 lead. Kya Dietzler’s offensive putback, her assist to Madisyn James, a mid-range jumper from Weir and the first varsity basket for Bailey Angell padded the lead, making it 44-19 and sending Gilman to its fifth win of the season against five losses.

Rib Lake fell to 2-9 overall as head coach Mike Wudi is seeing his team’s depth dwindle as the season’s finish line nears.

“The girls were the most intense I have seen them all year,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “It was so great to see, our defense was on fire. We had the pressure, in-your-face defense, took control of the game and kept it up for the full 36 minutes.”

The Pirates started the game in their man-to-man defense. Early buckets by Rib Lake’s Lauren Pelnis and Nellie Hopkins kept the game tied at 4-4. Just under six minutes in, Gilman switched to its 2-3 zone and various looks out of that slowed down Rib Lake for an eight-minute stretch.

Conversely, Gilman used some solid passing out of high-low sets in the paint to break down Rib Lake’s zones. Weir scored off assists from Dietzler and Grunseth, then Weir fed Grunseth for a score. Weir added another hoop to make it 18-6 with four minutes to go in the half. Scores by Rib Lake’s Kamy Annala and Pelnis broke the scoring drought, but Weir hit a 15-foot jumper with 40 seconds left for a 20-10 Gilman lead at the half.

James opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Annala, who scored a career-high 10 points, answered with a 3-pointer and later banked in another to keep it within reach at 26-16. But Gilman used skip passes to get Rib Lake’s zone moving and find holes in the interior in the second half, allowing the Pirates to pull away.

Gilman made 17 of 36 two-point shots and 19 of 49 shots from the field overall. Weir was nine of 14 and Grunseth was four of six. James scored five points, Dietzler had three and Angell and Vick scored two apiece. Grunseth had four assists and three steals. Vick had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Dietzler had four rebounds and two assists. Senior guard Katelynn Schmitt led the Pirates with six steals and added three assists. James had four steals and three assists. Weir added four steals and blocked a shot.

Pelnis scored five points for Rib Lake, Molly Heiser had four and Hopkins finished with two. Hopkins had six steals and five rebounds. Pelnis also had five boards. Rib Lake made nine of 43 shots from the field, including two of nine 3-pointers.

Gilman outrebounded Rib Lake 36-24. The Pirates turned the ball over 16 times compared to 24 times for the Lady Redmen.

Gilman hosts Columbus Catholic tonight, Thursday, while Rib Lake hosts Prentice Friday.