Offense never clicks in season-ending regional loss at McDonell

WIAA DIV. 5 GIRLS BASKETBALL

Defense kept the fourth-seeded Gilman Pirates in Friday’s WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal at one-seed McDonell Central for most of the first half, but the offense never made it to Chippewa Falls and the 2020-21 girls basketball season ended with a 57-20 defeat.

A 16-1 first-half run created separation for the Macks after the teams were stuck in a 4-4 tie for several minutes. Two baskets at the end of the half kept momentum with the Macks, who outscored Gilman 33-11 in the second half to easily secure the victory.

Gilman’s abbreviated season ended at 6-10. The Macks, who have also played far from a full schedule this season, sit at 10-3 after taking down third-seeded Lake Holcombe 57-44 in Saturday’s regional final.

The Pirates didn’t shoot well, making just seven of 36 shots from the field, including none of their 11 3-point tries. But the real culprits to their offensive struggles were 32 turnovers against the Macks’ man-to-man defense that included some sideline trapping.

“The turnovers are something we should have handled better,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “The Macks put 27 steals into their box score, with some of those providing the spark that finally got their offense going in the latter stages of the first half.”

Gilman’s 2-3 zone flustered the Macks early as the Pirates forced several outside shots and allowed few second chances. Hannah Vick scored early to tie it at 2-2 and Katelynn Schmitt sank a long two-point shot seven minutes to tie it again at 4-4.

That’s where it stayed until the half crept under the nine-minute mark. An Anna Geisler steal led to a Destiny Baughman score, and Emily Cooper’s offensive rebound and kickout gave Lauryn Deetz an open 3, which she canned to make it 9-4 at the 7:30 mark.

After a Gilman timeout, the Pirates continued to struggle. A Marley Hughes steal in the backcourt gave her a bucket. Her next steal gave Cooper a score and McDonell a 13-4 lead. Deetz scored off a nice shot fake, and Hughes went coastto- coast following a defensive rebound. Gilman finally got a Madisyn James free throw with 3:24 left in the half, but a 3-pointer by Cooper more than nullified that, making it 20-5.

Two free throws by Addy Hopkins and two more by Vick with 55.9 seconds left closed the gap to 20-9, but Deetz’s pull-up jumper and Geissler’s score off a Baughman steal with 0.2 seconds left were killers, pushing McDonell’s halftime lead to 24-9.

Tatum Weir, held scoreless in the first half, hit identical jumpers from the high post area to star the second half and give Gilman hope at 24-13. But a five-minute drought allowing McDonell, and Deetz in particular, to go on a game-clinching 11-0 run. Deetz’s steal led to a Geissler hoop to start the run and she had two buckets that sandwiched her blocked shot that led to Geissler transition bucket at the end of it.

Vick scored off a Schmitt assist to make it 35-15 but that was as close as Gilman would get. McDonell’s reserves finished the game with an 11-0 run in the last three minutes to widen the final margin.

Weir was held to six points, but she pulled down 20 rebounds in the loss. She also blocked three shots. Vick led the Pirates in scoring with eight points and she pulled down three rebounds.

Schmitt and Hopkins finished with two points apiece and James and Emma Grunseth had a point apiece. James hit some early foul trouble, while fouls caught up with Grunseth late in the game as she eventually fouled out on a charge call with 1:37 left.

Grunseth had seven rebounds, James had four and Schmitt and Vick each had three. Schmitt and Weir had two assists. Schmitt had two steals.

Deetz paced McDonell with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Geissler hit double figures with 11 points and had five steals. Hughes had six points, six rebounds and five steals.

The Macks were 24 of 57 from the field (42.1%), including four of 15 from long range. Gilman outrebounded McDonell 39-22.

The Pirates will lose Schmitt to graduation but could bring the rest of roster back next year after what they hope will be an off-season that will give them more time to improve than last year’s lockdown summer did.