Pirates take out frustrations on Granton after tough loss Friday
GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL
Coming off a disappointing loss to Spencer, the Gilman girls basketball team refocused on Tuesday and easily took care of winless Granton 68-15 in Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play.
While the lopsided score wasn’t unexpected as the Pirates boosted their league record to 7-5 and their overall mark to 12-7, head coach Tammy Weir said she was pleased with her team’s mental approach agains the 0-11, 0-16 Bulldogs.
“It was nice to play our game and stay strong with the entire team last night,” Weir said. “You always worry about not going out strong and that wasn’t the case. All the girls got some good minutes on the court and we all took care of the ball with only five turnovers.”
Tatum Weir led four scorers in double figures with 18 points and she added 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Madisyn James just missed a double-double with 11 points, eight assists and two steals. Kya Dietzler hit double figures for the second time in three games with 10 points and two rebounds. Aubrey Syryczuk had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. in the win.
From there, Emma Grunseth contributed eight points, six rebounds and three steals. Ava Warner hit a 3-pointer and had two rebounds and two steals. Claire Drier hit her first varsity 3-point basket as well. Hannah Vick had two points and four rebounds. Bryn Hendricks scored her first varsity points of the season and grabbed three rebounds. Emma Miller had a free throw and three rebounds. Kayleigh James blocked a shot and had a rebound.
The Pirates forced 18 turnovers, got 13 steals and outrebounded Granton 38-20.
Gilman was 22 of 51 on two-point shots, five of 17 on 3s and made nine of 11 free throws. Granton was just six of 21 on twopoint shots and one of 14 from long range.
The Pirates and Bulldogs will meet again Friday in Granton at 6 p.m. in a game that’s already been rescheduled twice this season. First, Gilman is at Owen-Withee tonight, Thursday, to try to complete a regular season sweep of the Blackhawks.
The Pirates will host Columbus Catholic on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. as they look to avenge a tough 57-55 defeat the Dons handed them on Dec. 16.
Spencer 45, Gilman 34
The Spencer Rockets wrapped up a top-two finish in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference at Gilman’s expense on Friday, using a strong defensive effort to take down the host Pirates 45-34.
The Rockets’ all-conference candidate Heavyn Kind had a big night, scoring 26 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for the Rockets. She made all seven of her free throws and three 3-pointers in the win.
No other Rocket scored more than six points, but it was enough because the Pirates’ didn’t get much consistent offensive production. Tammy Weir said the Rockets took a bit of a different approach by making sure Gilman guard Madisyn James didn’t beat them.
Their plan worked as they kept Gilman’s main ball handler and outside threat scoreless.
“Spencer shut down Madisyn,” Weir said. “She couldn’t breathe. Our inside game was where we normally are at, but the refs weren’t calling much, so we had to work twice as hard in there.”
Tatum Weir notched a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double for Gilman and added four blocked shots and an assist. Grunseth scored eight points and had seven rebounds and three assists. Syryczuk had another active game with six points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Warner had four points and five rebounds. Vick pulled down six rebounds.
Spencer outscored Gilman 15-0 on 3-point shots and 12-4 from the free throw line. The Rockets shot 14 free throws while Gilman shot only seven.
Spencer is 11-1 in league play and 14-5 overall after its Tuesday win at Greenwood. The Rockets host league-leading Neillsville tonight, Thursday. Neillsville (12-0, 17-2) would, for all intents and purposes, wrap up yet another Eastern Cloverbelt title with a win in this game.
