GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL - Pirates wear down Colby; dominate Lake Holcombe to go to 4-2
GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL
It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but the Gilman Pirates liked what they saw in the later stages Friday when they wore down the Colby Hornets, pulling away for a 5328 home win.
The victory gave the girls their first Eastern Cloverbelt Conference win of the season, evening that mark at 1-1, and pushed them to 4-2 overall heading into an ECC clash at Greenwood tonight, Thursday.
Kayleigh James scored 20 points, Claire Drier had nine and Allie Olynick grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds while scoring six points for the Pirates in Friday’s win.
“We looked a little sloppy,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “We had 27 turnovers, most of them in the first half, but we were able to force 32 turnovers for Colby. And we wore Colby down. They were tired. Even after we ran hard on Thursday, the girls ran harder and played fast again on Friday.”
With the loss, the Hornets dropped to 0-2 in league play and 2-3 overall.
Defenses for both teams flustered each other for about the first 12 minutes. The score was stuck with Colby leading 5-2 for more than three minutes before the Pirates finally got back-to-back scores from Drier to take a 6-5 lead. Colby went on a 7-2 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer from Alia Hamus, to lead 12-8 with six minutes left in the half.
But then the Pirates got the transition game they strive for going a bit and they took control going into halftime. Olynick pushed her way past the defense for a layup, Raygen Soper got a steal and score and a Reece Weir steal turned into a rebound bucket for Olynick. Addy Vick banked in a 3-pointer and her steal led to a James hoop. A James free throw with 2:19 left, followed by her steal that gave Drier a basket gave Gilman a 22-12 lead that later got to 25-13 at halftime.
Colby got the first score of the second half when an Alexis Vanderhoof steal gave Angelique Hernandez a basket, but Gilman’s lead remained in double digits the rest of the way. James was able to beat Colby’s defense back and her teammates found her for easy scores multiple times. James scored 11 of her points in the second half. Reece Weir scored four of her five points in the half, Raygen Soper scored four of her six points in the half and Aubrey Steinbach added a score. The Pirates led 35-22 when a 10-0 run broke the game wide open. James made one of two free throws, as did Olynick. James hit a long jumper, Steinbach scored and her rebound led to a James basket. James then got a steal and score to make it 45-22.
Weir had eight rebounds, Vick had seven and Steinbach and Soper had four each for Gilman, who outrebounded Colby 45-29. Weir had four assists and Vick had three. Weir had six steals, James had five, Vick had four and Drier and Soper had three each.
Hernandez scored eight points and Elizabeth Perez had six to lead Colby.
“It was a slow start, but by the end of the second half, we had them under control,” coach Weir said.
After tonight’s game in Greenwood, Gilman gets a tough road test at perennial conference power Neillsville Tuesday before returning home to face Loyal on Dec. 20.
Gilman 75, Holcombe 18
On Thursday, the Pirates raced out to an 18-2 lead and coasted the rest of the way for a 75-18 non-conference win over visiting Lake Holcombe.
Gilman forced 30 turnovers, including 24 on steals, and the transition opportunities led to 46.8% shooting on two-point attempts (29 of 62). Gilman also made 11 of 12 free throws and outrebounded the Chieftains 46-22 in the rout.
James scored 19 points, Olynick scored 13 and Soper had a career-high 11 to lead the way.
“We made a couple of changes to the lineup to move some positions around and it worked in our favor,” Tammy Weir said. “The girls looked good against Holcombe. They took charge from the start and didn’t look back. We pushed the ball and had great shooting percentages. With those stats you can easily get a win.”
The Pirates immediately turned turnovers into points. Weir got a steal and putback a Drier miss for the game’s first basket. Weir’s second steal got James a basket and Olynick’s steal led to two James free throws. Olynick scored for a quick 8-0 lead. Her backcourt steal made it 10-2. James later hit a 3, Steinbach got a steal and score and Olynick scored again for the 18-2 lead seven minutes in.
The Pirates closed the first half with a 10-0 run to take a 39-9 halftime lead. A 10-2 spurt to start the second half put it way out of reach for the Chieftains, who fell to 1-1 after beating Lac Courte Oreilles 26-25 two nights earlier.
Weir scored eight points for Gilman, Averie Olynick, Scarlett Stuner, Drier and Norah Noonan all scored four points, while Steinbach and Paige Daley each added a field goal. Weir had a team-high 11 rebounds. Vick had eight, Noonan and Allie Olynick grabbed five each and Averie Olynick and Steinbach pulled down four apiece. Weir also dished out eight assists. Drier and James had three each. James have five of Gilman’s steals, Weir and Drier had four each and Allie Olynick, Soper and Steinbach had three apiece.
Chloe Irwin, a former Pirate, and Payton Birkenholz scored six points apiece for Lake Holcombe.
