GIRLS HOOPS: GILMAN 60, RIB LAKE 55 - CROSS-COUNTY THRILLER

GIRLS HOOPS: GILMAN 60, RIB LAKE 55

Losers of two three-point games right before Christmas, the Gilman Pirates didn’t let it happen again Tuesday, fighting off foul trouble and hitting key shots both from the field and, just as importantly, the free throw line to hold off visiting Rib Lake 60-55 in a back-and-forth non-conference battle.

This figured to be an even battle and it didn’t disappoint. The biggest lead either team had was six and, for the majority of the second half, neither team had more than a one-possession lead.

Danielle Mann poured in a gamehigh 28 points to lead the Pirates (5-7) and help them break their fourgame losing streak. It looked like she wouldn’t get the chance to lead Gilman when she was saddled with three firsthalf fouls and then got her fourth with 16:29 left in the game.

But, the difference in the game may have been Gilman’s ability to dig out of a six-point deficit with Mann on the bench during the first half and Mann’s ability to get through the second half without picking up her fifth and fouling out.

“I’m kinda used to it,” Mann said of playing with fouls. “I trust my defense, trust my teammates. I know they got it. I maybe play a little softer. Try to just be smart.”

“I think it was just about putting us in the correct mindset,” said Kayleigh James, who scored 10 points, five in each half, in the win. “We were down, but just to come back and be able to tie it (at halftime) really put us on a good stretch for the second half.”

Rib Lake also stands at 5-7 after the loss. Head coach Austin Edwards’ crew certainly had its chances in a frustrating defeat.

“We definitely need to shore up our attention to detail,” Edwards said. “We have a lot of girls making basic mental mistakes that are really holding us back. We had taken a six-point lead last night when we allowed Danielle Mann to bury two straight 3s because we didn’t find our matchups in transition. Those types of things are inexcusable. We also need to shore up our finishing around the rim as well as playing with a little bit more urgency.”

Losing the lead late in the first half was one crucial point in the game. The Redmen also rode a wave of momentum to take a three-point lead midway through the second half that slipped away and the Redmen had a tough night at the free throw line, making just four of 17. Gilman, on the other hand, was nine of 11 while winning the program’s sixth straight game against Rib Lake.

“Free throws could have lost it for us,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “If we wouldn’t have made those at the end we would’ve lost by one. That was a big deal.”

“If we make half of the ones we missed, we win the game,” Edwards said. “Sometimes the free throw battle is the difference in the game, and (Tuesday) night it cost us a win.”

Josie Scheithauer’s 3-pointer and a driving score by Emma Tlusty pushed Rib Lake to its 37-34 lead with 10:05 left, capping a 10-4 run that overturned a 3027 deficit after James opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Gilman. Mann rebounded a Rib Lake miss and wound up as the trailer in transition and sank a 3-pointer to tie it at the 9:49 mark. Mann’s second 3 of the half answered a Tessa Weik hoop and put Gilman up 40-39 with 8:57 to play. Gilman’s lead hit four on two occasions, but back came Rib Lake on an Avery Niemi score with 4:35 left and a Weik steal that led to a Josie Scheithauer score that made it 46-46 with 4:09 left.

Mann and James then came through with big plays as Mann rattled in a 3-pointer on a friendly bounce and James got a defender in the air with a shot fake and drove in to score from the left side to put the Pirates up 51-46.

“I’m not really a driver,” James said. “I’ve been trying to get myself into the mindset to drive more. To be able to have a couple of drives tonight and actually succeed with them was really nice. I think I can gain confidence off of that.”

“Kayleigh has the best pump fake on the team, so having that drive helps,” Mann said.

Scheithauer hit a clutch 3 to get Rib Lake right back within one score with 1:40 left, but the Pirates answered by breaking the press and getting a Claire Drier score off an Addy Vick assist. Tahlia Scheithauer’s rebound basket got Rib Lake right back within two at 53-51 with 1:12 left and the Redmen then had a chance to tie it off a steal but missed. Mann sank two sets of bonus free throws to put Gilman ahead 57-51. Tlusty scored for Rib Lake then, after Allie Olynick made one of two free throws, Tlusty put back a Josie Scheithauer miss for Rib Lake to keep the pressure on the Pirates at 58-55 with 9.5 seconds left.

But, out of a Rib Lake timeout, Gilman got the ball to Olynick and the sophomore slammed the door on Rib Lake’s rally by sinking two more free throws.

Olynick’s nine points and Drier’s six points were no small deal for Gilman and Aubrey Steinbach added five, including a key 3-pointer in the first half. Vick added a bucket.

Weik got off to a fast start for Rib Lake, finding creases inside Gilman’s zone defense for the Redmen’s first six points and a 6-2 lead. Addison Gumz knocked down two early 3s, the second of which gave Rib Lake a 17-15 lead right before Mann went to the bench with her third foul and was soon followed by Jaylyn Orth, who also got her third, taking away another inside presence.

Rib Lake seemed to be taking advantage, getting a 3-pointer from Kiana Dallmann to go up 21-15.

“Getting outside shots to fall does so much for our style of play,” said Edwards, who added the Redmen continued to improve in creating good shots, both inside and outside. “It stretches out the defense and makes us more than just a team that has to rely on layups to be competitive. All in all, we have been shooting better from the floor as a collective unit. However, until we can start shoring up the details on defense and making fewer turnovers on offense, it doesn’t matter how well we shoot because we’ll be giving up too many points on the other end.”

James hit a 3 for Gilman and, after Steinbach’s 3, James drove to the hoop to answer another Dallmann jumper to tie it at 23-23. The teams went to the locker room tied at 27-27. Mann’s fourth foul was called 1:31 into the half when she tried to box out Niemi.

“I just looked at her and said I’m not taking you out,” Weir said. “I said you’re going to have to figure it out.”

Gumz had her second strong offensive outing in Rib Lake’s last three games with a team-high 13 points. Weik finished with 12, Josie Scheithauer and Tlusty scored eight apiece, Niemi had six points, Dallmann wound up with five, Tahlia Scheithauer had two points and Madilyn Blomberg added a free throw.

Gilman makes the mid-season turn in Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play in the next week, hosting Spencer tonight, Thursday, and visiting Columbus Catholic Monday. The Pirates start round two Jan. 12 at Owen-Withee.

Rib Lake has a big challenge Friday, visiting the state’s top-ranked Division 5 team Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in a 5:30 p.m. tip time. The Redmen host Auburndale Monday at 7:15 p.m. before starting round two of Marawood North play Jan. 12 by hosting Chequamegon in a 6:30 p.m. tip.

With her head coach Tammy Weir watching in the background, Gilman’s Kayleigh James challenges a baseline shot by Rib Lake’s Kiana Dallmann during the first half of Tuesday’s game won by the host Pirates 60-55. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS