GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL - Comeback falls short vs. Loggers; Pirates better in Neillsville
GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Gilman Pirates quickly found themselves down 20-2 Monday, but they made a game of it, getting within five late in the second half, but the gap was too much to overcome in 56-46 nonconference loss to Phillips.
The visiting Loggers, who currently lead the Marawood North, got 19 points and some key rebounds from their senior standout Mataya Eckert, especially an offensive rebound basket with 3:35 left that stopped Gilman’s late surge toward a potential comeback victory.
“The last two games have been against two tough teams and my girls held their own,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “We got down early against Phillips, but came back and had it within five, losing by only 10. They have a nice team.”
Eckert’s early mark on the game came on the defensive end, where her steals led to a couple of transition baskets by teammates on the other end.
Once the Pirates maintained better control of the basketball midway through the first half, they were able to breakdown the Loggers’ zone at times in half-court and got a few easy baskets after breaking the press as well.
Raygen Soper and Reece Weir pulled Gilman off the mat after the early punch from Phillips and kickstarted the offense with back-to-back 3-pointers. From there, the Pirates and Loggers basically traded baskets through the end of the first half, which ended with the Loggers leading 3016.
Eckert got the first basket of the second half, but Weir sank a 3 and a long pass from Allie Olynick found Kayleigh James ahead of Phillips defense for an easy score to get Gilman within 32-21.
A 3-pointer by James got Gilman back within 11 again at 39-28 with just over 10 minutes left. Her offensive rebound led to an Addy Vick mid-range jumper that got the deficit to single digits for the first time at 41-32. Out of a Gilman timeout with 7:36 left, James got free for a right-wing 3-pointer. That was followed by two Olynick free throws 22 seconds later. Suddenly, it was a 43-37 game.
Vick’s elbow jumper made it 45-40 with 3:40 to play, but Eckert’s rebound basket followed that. The Loggers got a stop and a Lilly Miller basket to go back up by nine. James scored for Gilman at the 2:52 mark, but Eckert assisted on another Miller basket, Sarah Knaack hit one of two free throws for Phillips and, after a Gilman turnover, Knaack got the ball to Kendra Timmers for a hoop and harm at the 2:00 mark. Timmers missed the free throw but the Loggers got a Raelee Williams basket not long after that sealed the deal.
While Gilman fell to 10-9 overall, James led the way with 16 points and came close to a triple double with eight rebounds and eight steals. She had four assists. Weir added 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Vick scored all eight of her points in the second half and had five rebounds. Olynick scored five points, Drier had four and Soper finished with three. Drier had four rebounds.
Knaack hit double figures for Phillips (14-5) with 10 points, while Timmers had nine.
Gilman heads to Loyal tonight, Thursday, as it returns to Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play. The Pirates will host Spencer Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. before closing out league play at Columbus Catholic Feb. 14.
“I really like how the girls are playing,” coach Weir said. “We still have some decisions that aren’t the best out there, but for the most part, we’re looking good for this time of year.”
Warriors 45, Pirates 20
On Friday, Gilman played a much better second game against Eastern Cloverbelt leader Neillsville, staying within 16-11 in the first half before the Warriors imposed their will in the second half and pulled away for a 45-20 win on the Pirates’ home floor.
Neillsville humbled Gilman 87-13 in the first meeting back on Dec. 17.
“This was a fun one, the girls played so good,” Tammy Weir said. “We had great control, we were 100% at the free throw line (eight for eight), we rebounded very well and we shut down (Sydney) Subke the first half.”
Subke, Neillsville’s all-conference senior leader, did break out in the second half and finished with 17 points driven by five-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. The Warriors’ all-conference sophomore Madi Davel added 10 points, but no one else for Neillsville scored more than four.
The Warriors improved to 11-0 in conference play. They did fall to 17-2 overall Monday with a 55-54 loss to the state’s second-ranked Division 5 team, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption. Neillsville was ranked sixth last week in Division 4.
As usual, Neillsville was not easy to score on. Drier led Gilman with six points. She added four rebounds and three steals. James had five points and five rebounds. Reece Weir was two for two at the line and led Gilman with nine rebounds. She had two assists and blocked two shots. Olynick and Vick both had two points and six rebounds. Patty Kloss hit a 3-pointer.
“I am so proud of the girls improvements,” coach Weir said.
