Pirates take control early in win; Neillsville dominant again

GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Gilman Pirates scored the game’s first 10 points and never looked back Tuesday, rolling past Colby 52-31 to even their Eastern Cloverbelt Conference record at 2-2.

The Pirates got double-doubles from Emma Grunseth and Tatum Weir and were absolutely dominant in the rebounding department. Weir, in fact, fell one blocked shot shy of a triple-double.

While it still wasn’t a perfect outing, head coach Tammy Weir said there were positives to build from as Gilman improved to 2-4 overall.

“It was another game with too many turnovers, but we were able to pull out a win with our high shooting percentage and awesome rebounding,” she said. “I’d still like to cut our turnovers in half and try to get around the 10-12 mark. But, our rebounding is spot on. We hit the boards tonight and our shots were where we needed them to be.”

Tatum Weir had 13 points, 14 rebounds and nine blocked shots in the win. She added four assists and four steals in her best all-around outing of the season. Grunseth had 15 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Both got off to good starts as Weir had nine points and Grunseth hit three field goals in the first half. Three-point makes from Madisyn James, Aubrey Syryczuk and Ava Warner added to Gilman’s 26-12 halftime lead.

Good offensive execution freed up Grunseth to score nine second-half points as the Pirates pulled away by outscoring Colby 26-19 in the last 18 minutes.

James finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Syryczuk had five points, 11 rebounds with 10 of them coming on the defensive end, five assists, a blocked shot and a steal.

“Her ball handling is exactly what we need to clean up our turnovers,” coach Weir said.

Kya Dietzler had four points and four rebounds. Warner added two rebounds to her first 3-pointer of the year. Freshman Kayleigh James got her first varsity bucket, junior Emma Miller got a rebound in her first varsity minutes and Addysson Hopkins returned to the lineup and got a rebound and a steal.

The Pirates outrebounded Colby 4924 and held the Hornets to 13 made field goals in 57 overall attempts (22.8%). Gilman was 18 of 42 on two-point shots (42.9%) and hit three of 14 3-pointers. The Pirates made seven of 10 free throws. They had 22 turnovers and 13 assists.

“We came out strong and held our own,” Tammy Weir said. “We still need to clean it up and cut down the turnovers.”

Kya Viegut led Colby with 10 points, all of which were scored in the second half.

Gilman is scheduled to head to Granton Friday for a 6:15 tip time before traveling to Marshfield for a Dec. 16 battle with Columbus Catholic that starts at 7:15 p.m.

Neillsville 61, Gilman 17

The Neillsville Warriors have again established themselves as the team to beat in the early going in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference and Gilman got a first-hand look Thursday in a 61-17 home loss.

Neillsville forced 25 Pirate turnovers and limited the Pirates to just seven made shots from the field in 38 overall attempts. Gilman made one of 15 3-point attempts, while Neillsville was six of 19. The Warriors also had a big edge at the free throw line, making 13 of 18 shots, while Gilman was two of five.

“Neillsville is so disciplined and they just do a great job out there,” Tammy Weir said. “They controlled the entire game. Again, our turnovers were too high. We have to figure this out, or it’s going to be tough.”

Neillsville jumped out to a 29-6 halftime lead, getting 10 points in the half from Paris Opelt, who made eight of nine free throws, six points from Delaney Rochester and two 3s from Amelia Trunkel, who finished with a game-high 14 points and two more 3s in the second half. Opelt finished with 12 points and Rochester had 10 points and five steals.

Hannah Vick had her best offensive outing of the new season, making three of eight shots to score seven points, five of which came in the second half. She added three rebounds. The Warriors limited Tatum Weir to four second-half points, though she still grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked seven shots and had two steals and an assist. Syryczuk hit Gilman’s lone 3-pointer in the first half and had two assists.

“She did a great job for us in handling the ball with only one turnover,” coach Weir said.

Dietzler had a bucket and four rebounds. Grunseth made a free throw and had six rebounds and a steal.

“They shut down our scorers inside, and our outside shots didn’t fall for us, so that made it even tougher,” Weir said.