ALL-EASTERN CLOVERBELT GIRLS BASKETBALL - Gilman’s James gets All-ECC second-team award

ALL-EASTERN CLOVERBELT GIRLS BASKETBALL

As Gilman’s leader in scoring and steals, senior Kayleigh James earned postseason recognition as a member of the 2024-25 All-Eastern Cloverbelt Conference girls basketball second team.

James earned one of the six secondteam spots after a season where she averaged 11.2 points, 3.2 steals, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game for the Pirates, who went 6-8 in conference play, good for fifth place, and 13-13 overall. James played in all 26 games. This is the first All-ECC basketball recognition for James, who also plays volleyball and softball.

For the second straight season, Gilman reached the regional final round of the WIAA Division 5 tournament. Unlike last year, the Pirates’ run ended there with a 47-25 loss to conference rival and eventual sectional champion Owen-Withee.

James and Claire Drier assumed the primary leadership roles on a young team that had just two juniors and then several sophomores and freshmen in the regular rotation.

In 14 conference games, James averaged 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.2 assists per game. She led the Pirates with 26 made 3-pointers, 14 of which came in conference games. She scored 290 points overall while shooting 33.4% from the field overall and 59.7% from the free throw line.

Conference play was highlighted by a 20-point outing Dec. 6 in a 53-28 home win over Colby. She had five steals and three assists in that game. James had 14 points in a 54-48 win over Loyal on Dec. 20. She had 16 points and two steals in Gilman’s upset bid against Owen-Withee on Jan. 17 that ended in a 56-48 loss. James had 15 points, three steals and two rebounds in a 53-32 win at Spencer on Jan. 9; 12 points and three steals in the Jan. 23 rematch at Colby, which Gilman won 4342, and she had a fine all-around game in a Feb. 11 home matchup with Spencer, scoring seven points, grabbing seven rebounds and adding five assists and four steals. She had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals in a loss at Columbus Catholic three days later.

James had a season-high 23 points in a 59-36 non-conference win at Thorp on Jan. 7. That followed a strong 17-point outing at Rib Lake in a 57-45 loss on Jan. 2. She recorded a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double in Gilman’s WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal 43-40 win at Washburn on Feb. 28 and was three steals short of a triple double. She scored 15 points and had four steals in a seasonopening win over Edgar and 19 points in a 75-18 rout of Lake Holcombe on Dec. 5.

This year’s All-Eastern Cloverbelt first team includes repeat selections Sydney Subke and Madi Davel of Neillsville, Tysen Lindner of Greenwood and Owen-Withee senior Kendall Weiler. Subke, who led Neillsville to yet another undefeated run through league play was named the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference Player of the Year.

Owen-Withee (25-4) is set to face topseeded Wisconsin Rapids Assumption Friday morning in a WIAA Division 5 state semifinal at Green Bay. Neillsville was the conference’s other sectional qualifier. The top-seeded Warriors were knocked out the semifinal round by two-seed La Crosse Aquinas in Division 4 play.

The Pirates had no more award winners in this year’s All-ECC vote, but they figure to bring back a solid candidate in current junior Allison Olynick, who averaged 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds. Junior Aubrey Steinbach, sophomore Addy Vick and freshmen Reece Weir also look to lead what figures to remain a relatively young squad next year.

All-ECC boys team

The 2024-25 All-Eastern Cloverbelt Conference boys teams also were released March 1 and do not include any members of the Gilman Pirates, who finished in seventh place in the league at 2-12 and were 6-18 overall.

The first team is all new after last year’s team was all seniors. Owen-Withee’s Mason Gay is the only senior this year. Juniors Mac Konieczny of Columbus Catholic, Reed Fleischmann of Colby, Reed Stieglitz of Loyal, Andrew Hoeser of Neillsville and Sam Bezlyk of Spencer round out the first team.

Konieczny, Columbus Catholic’s sharp-shooting guard, was named the Player of the Year.

Columbus Catholic and Owen-Withee shared the conference title with 11-3 league records, while Loyal was third at 10-4, a game ahead of Neillsville. Columbus Catholic has reached the WIAA Division 5 sectional round as a two-seed and plays one-seed Cochrane-Fountain City tonight, Thursday in a semifinal. Owen-Withee was upset as a three-seed by six-seed Prentice 68-59 in a Division 5 regional semifinal. Loyal got to a Division 5 regional final, but lost to Cochrane-Fountain City.