Pirates survive defensive slugfest with Cardinals in regional semis

D5 REGIONAL SEMIFINAL: GILMAN 38, THORP 25

Two days after an outside shooting display carried them past Rib Lake, the Gilman Pirates relied on defense and taking whatever points they could get Friday in a 38-25 WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal slugfest with Thorp.

The 14th-seeded Cardinals, fresh off their 49-46 overtime upset over thirdseeded Flambeau, didn’t make life easy for the sixth-seeded Pirates on the offensive end, clogging the lane with an effective 3-2 zone. Gilman’s hot shooting from the outside from the previous game did not carry over making things even more difficult.

But, after some early struggles with its man-to-man, Gilman went back to its defensive staple, its 2-3 zone, and Thorp was simply unable to beat that from the outside.

“I am so proud of how the girls handled themselves Friday night against Thorp,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “This was a very physical game and the girls kept their heads up and fought hard to get the job done.”

Two of Gilman’s seniors said it was a memorable night for them playing in front of such a charged-up crowd in the final home games of their careers.

“It was super exciting,” Aubrey Syryczuk said.

“It was great to be part of,” Madisyn James said. “It’s our biggest rivals. We stayed calm and kept our composure.”

“We just played our game,” Syryczuk said.

Thorp ended a tough year where it was constantly having to adjust lineups due to injury and illness at 4-21. For head coach and Medford native Keith Wicks, the result came down to one thing.

“We just couldn’t make a shot,” he said.

The Cardinals made just nine shots from the field in 38 attempts, including two of 18 from 3-point range. Gilman wasn’t significantly better at 12 of 43 overall, including eight for 25 on two-point shots and four of 18 from long range. But the Pirates added a five-point advantage at the free throw line by making 10 of 18, outrebouded Thorp 32-23 and did enough to take the lead midway through the first half and never give it back.

James hit a 3 to start the scoring and Emma Grunseth came up with a backcourt steal and got fouled. She converted the three-point play to make it 6-4 just over three minutes. Tatum Weir stepped outside the lane and hit a baseline jumper and a 3-pointer to put Gilman up 13-8 at the 8:00 mark. Thorp got a bucket from Brianna Horn and a triple from Ava Teclaw to tie it at 13-13, but Hannah Vick got a key offensive putback, Grunseth sank a free throw and Weir got a threepoint play with 3:18 left in the half to open up a 19-14 lead that wound up being 21-18 at the half after Horn scored for Thorp with 20 seconds left.

Vick had an active first half off the bench for the Pirates with two points and most of her five rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end.

“She really stepped it up tonight,” Syryczuk said of Vick.

Both teams came out ice cold from the field after the break. Horn did tie it at 21-21 with a 3-pointer and Vick completed her scoring for the night with another offensive putback to make it 23-21. It stayed that way until Weir buried her second trey of the night at the 12:05 mark. Horn scored for the Cardinals to close the gap to 26-23. Grunseth hit two of four free throws in a two-minute span to nudge the lead to five, then Syryczuk came up with a big shot, driving into the lane and banking one in with 5:45 left to make it a three-possession game at 30-23.

James delivered the dagger a minute later, by finally finding her mark from 3-point range to make it a 10-point game at 33-23.

“We just really wanted to spread the floor and drive a lot more,” James said of how Gilman wanted to attack the zone. “We had to open up the middle and then drive.”

Weir collected another double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. She added five blocked shots and three steals. James had 10 points and three rebounds after getting past some early foul trouble. Grunseth had nine points and four rebounds. Vick added two assists and a steal to her totals. Syryczuk had four points and three rebounds. Kya Dietzler had three rebounds.

“This was a very low scoring game. Lots of defense,” Tammy Weir said. “The girls played hard and played so well as a team.”

Horn led Thorp with 11 points. No one else had more than four.

“We started out in man then we ended up going to zone,” James said. “We shut down the middle, they couldn’t drive and they weren’t making any 3s. It was really about just closing out on them.

“I feel so confident right now,” she added. “We’re having fun. We’re such a team. We look at every other team we play and they don’t have that bond like we do with our seniors and Tatum.”

The Pirates advanced to Saturday’s regional final, which they lost at secondseeded Prairie Farm 65-41 to finish their season at 18-9.

Gilman’s Aubrey Syryczuk penetrates Thorp’s defense and gets in the lane for a good scoring chance during the second half of Friday’s 38-25 win over the Cardinals in a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

Gilman’s Tatum Weir gets free and puts in an easy two for the Pirates during the second half of their 65-41 WIAA Division 5 regional final loss at Prairie Farm Saturday night. Weir had 18 points and eight rebounds in the game.ELIZABETH SKABROUD PHOTO