GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL - Pirates sunk in league opener, can’t quite come back at New Auburn

GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL

Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play got off to a rough start for Gilman’s girls basketball team Tuesday in a 60-21 loss at rival Owen-Withee.

The Blackhawks jumped ahead 22-0 and never looked back while improving to 3-0 overall. Gilman dropped its second straight game to go to 2-2.

The Pirates’ plan of trying to push the pace and create transition opportunities worked against them as the host Blackhawks were the ones getting those opportunities, many of which came off turnovers.

“Owen ran our offense, pushed the ball up the court and we didn’t have time to react,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “They took control. They made a point that they had the game and wanted the game.”

It took Gilman 9:30 to finally get on the scoreboard on a drive by Reece Weir. She added a 3-pointer to make it 22-5, but the Pirates weren’t to put a bigger dent into the deficit as Owen-Withee’s zone defense was tough to penetrate. The Blackhawks were quick to get back on defense and set up that zone, making fast-break points difficult for Gilman to get.

The Pirates trailed 35-8 at halftime and then made just three field goals in the second half. For the game, Gilman was six of 41 from the field overall, including just four of 38 on two-point shots. The Blackhawks got the Pirates to turn the ball over 31 times.

“Our shots were off,” Tammy Weir said. “We had 11 steals, but didn’t turn them into points. Turnovers were through the roof from everyone. We got taken over and Owen never looked back. They rebounded only nine offensive boards, but turned them all into a putback. That was huge for them also.”

Claire Drier led Gilman with eight points, five rebounds and two steals. Reece Weir had seven points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Aubrey Steinbach and Allie Olynick had secondhalf baskets and Averie Olynick and Addy Vick each added a free throw. Allie Olynick had four rebounds. Raygen Soper had three rebounds and three steals.

Madilyn Mueller led three Blackhawks in double figures with 14 points. Kendall Weiler scored 12 and Geneva Capetillo added 11.

The Pirates are right back at it tonight, Thursday, hosting Lake Holcombe at 5:45 p.m. to start a girls/boys varsity doubleheader. Gilman returns to league play Friday by hosting Colby at 7:15 p.m. The Pirates will be at Greenwood Dec. 12.

“We plan to continue to work,” Tammy Weir said. “We know we can do this offense. We proved it in our first two games. But, we just need to make some adjustments on positions and see who fits better where.”

New Auburn 45, Gilman 38

On Nov. 26, Gilman got the first basket of the game and never led again as a late comeback fell a little short in a 45-38 nonconference loss at New Auburn.

Down by as much as 12 in the second half, the Pirates closed the gap to four on two late occasions and had chances to get even closer. But a couple of good shots didn’t fall and New Auburn’s Nora Jensen slammed the door, single-handedly breaking Gilman’s press for a layup that made it 41-35 with 1:06 left and adding the finishing layup with 14 seconds to go.

Jensen led all scorers with 22 points. New Auburn also got 11 points from Elise Branville and 10 from Kyra North while improving to 2-0 at the time.

“We just played flat,” Tammy Weir said. “It was an aggressive game, very defensive, but we didn’t want to push the ball up the court and we just didn’t play our game.”

Reece Weir scored the game’s first points, but New Auburn went on a 10-2 run to grab the lead. Both teams had trouble scoring consistently in the opening half. Gilman closed within 14-10 at the 3:30 mark when Norah Noonan turned a steal into an assist on an Averie Olynick basket. The Trojans closed the half with an 18-12 lead and Branville got a rebound basket to start the second half for an eightpoint edge.

The lead widened to 29-17 on a Jensen hoop with 13:10 to go. Then Gilman started to slowly chip away. A Vick 3 made it 33-26 with 6:55 to go. Vick grabbed a defensive rebound and went the other way with it for a layup and Allie Olynick rebounded her own missed 3 and scored to cut the Trojans’ lead to 35-30 with 4:25 left. Allie Olynick’s three-point play got the deficit to 37-33 with 3:46 left. Allie Olynick’s close shot and a Steinbach 3 both rimmed out and Jensen took advantage, scoring with 2:28 left. Vick answered 10 seconds later. The Pirates got the ball back and got an open look from 3 for Kayleigh James with 1:15 left but it didn’t go in, leading to Jensen’s big drive that pushed the lead back to six.

Vick scored all nine of her points in the second half and added eight rebounds. Allie Olynick had six points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. James and Soper scored five points apiece. Soper hit a late 3 for Gilman’s final points and had four rebounds. Reece Weir had five points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Noonan had two points and five rebounds. Claire Drier had a hoop and four boards. Averie Olynick and Steinbach also had two points each.

Gilman had a 37-27 rebounding edge. Turnovers were close with Gilman giving the ball up 20 times and New Auburn 16. New Auburn was just nine of 23 from the free throw line, but Gilman was five of 10, so the Trojans got a few more points there and they made 15 of 47 two-point shots, while Gilman was 12 of 29.

“The girls played hard but not as fast as I wanted them to be,” coach Weir said.