Pirates finish well in loss, finish well in win at Loyal

GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL

In a week where the Gilman Pirates are scheduled to get good reminders of what it will take to make a deep run in the post-season, they sort of passed their first test Monday night.

The first half wasn’t particularly pretty from the Pirates’ standpoint, but they did finish a 73-53 loss to now 12-1 Phillips with some positive vibes with a strong second half against the visiting Loggers.

Ultimately, the Pirates had no answers for the deadly duo of Mataya Eckert and Kacy Eggebrecht, who scored 23 and 22 points respectively, nor could they overcome their turnovers against the pressure applied by Phillips at both ends of the court, especially in those first 18 minutes.

“We got off to a slow start the first half, ran with them in the second half, but couldn’t gain ground to take the lead,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “The girls had way too many turnovers (29). So, there’s the game right there. We were doing well the last few games taking care of the ball, but (Monday) night we made some bad decisions.”

Gilman, now 9-5 overall, is scheduled to get its second test of the week tonight, Thursday, when it hosts 14-0 Neillsville at about 7:15 p.m. The girls game is the second of a varsity doubleheader. The boys play Owen-Withee at 5:30 p.m.

Eckert made the Loggers’ only 3-pointer of the night to give her team an early 10-3 lead. That was answered by two Tatum Weir baskets that pulled Gilman within 10-7, but then the Loggers went on a 10-2 spurt that opened up a 20-9 lead. Scores by Danielle Mann and Weir made it 20-11 and 22-13, which were the last times the margin was in single digits. Phillips passed its way into some open looks in half-court sets and turned some turnovers into points to build a 39-21 halftime lead.

The Loggers’ lead hit its high of 22 at 49-27 on a perfect transition break started by Solita Kaster and finished by Eggebrecht off an Eckert assist with 13:30 to play.

But from there, Gilman played with energy, hit some shots and made some short runs at Phillips. Freshman Allie Olynick, who scored a season-high nine points, scored off a blocked shot by Weir and assist from Kayleigh James to make it a 49-35 game and Weir scored moments later to make it 53-37. Phillips went on a 6-0 run when the Pirates responded with a Mann score, two free throws from Weir and a 3-pointer from James to make it 5944 with 6:10 left. When Mann banked in a 3 with 4:20 left, the lead was back down to 14 at 63-49 before the Loggers closed things out with a 10-4 run.

The Pirates actually shot the ball better from the field than Phillips did, but the turnovers didn’t give them enough shots. Gilman was 18 of 44 on two-point shots (40.9%) and three of 11 from downtown (27.3%) while the Loggers were 28 of 72 (38.9%) and one of eight. The Loggers did some damage with their 15 offensive rebounds, but Gilman held a 48-33 edge overall on the boards.

Weir posted her fifth triple-double of the season with 20 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocked shots and three assists. Mann, used to seeing the Loggers from her two years with Rib Lake, had a 15-point, 15-assist double-double and also blocked four shots and had two assists.

Olynick had three rebounds, two steals and two assists to go with her nine points. James had four points, four rebounds and four assists. Ava Warner and Claire Drier had two points and three assists each. Jaylyn Orth added a first-half free throw and a rebound.

Post Brooke Eckert added 12 points inside for the Loggers.

“Overall, Phillips was a fun team to watch, coach against and play,” Weir said.

Gilman is at Colby Tuesday and hosts Spencer Jan. 27 in Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play.

Gilman 52, Loyal 48

Gilman got a test in late-game pressure and survived it Friday, getting its second down-to-the-wire win of the season over Loyal by a score of 52-48.

Mann sank the go-ahead bonus free throws with 3:05 left to put the Pirates on top 46-45. She scored off a Warner assist with 2:41 left and, after the Pirates, had missed some chances to build on the lead, Mann finally gave the guests a twopossession lead at 50-45 by draining two more free throws after rebounding an Addysen Wolf miss with 25 seconds left.

Those free throws proved to be huge as Wolf buried a 3-point shot eight seconds later to pull Loyal within two. But Gilman successfully beat the Greyhounds’ full-court pressure out of a timeout and got Drier alone for a wide-open breakaway layup with five seconds left.

Gilman got the win by rallying from a 30-22 halftime deficit and improved to 6-3 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference, good for a second-place tie with Columbus Catholic. The two teams are a game and a half ahead of 4-4 Loyal.

“Loyal plays a running game and in the first half we got into an uncontrolled offense, we were down eight at the half,” coach Weir said. “In the second half we came out under control and ran our offense. We pulled Tatum outside and put Danielle inside and they both did great. They both got double-doubles. Tatum was able to hit three out of six 3s and still get nine blocks on the defensive end. Danielle did well handling the pressure inside.”

While Loyal took momentum into the locker room on Olivia Nkolai’s late 3, Weir sank a 3 to start the second half and spark a 14-0 run that put Gilman in temporary control. Weir had 10 points in the run and Warner drilled a 3 as well. Loyal then scored six straight to tie it, but Gilman nudged ahead again with a 5-0 spurt with Mann getting a three-point play off an outlet pass from Warner and a Drier jumper. But 3s by Alyssia Zvolena and Sheila Tellock and a hoop from Anna Lindner in a 9-3 run put Loyal back on top, though it was only for 15 seconds.

Weir had 21 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and two steals. Mann had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Drier added six points and three assists, and Warner had a big night with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“Ava had a great game,” coach Weir said. “Kayleigh and Allie both added some nice rebounds, steals and assists. But, it is the defense and hustle that comes from the bench that is just unbelievable. Allie, Aubrey and Jaylyn just did a great job stepping in and making the most of their minutes when needed.”

Gilman outrebounded Loyal 37-27 and forced 13 turnovers while committing 14. Gilman was six of 16 on 3-point shots, while Loyal was seven of 22.

Zvolena led Loyal with 17 points, while Tellock added 11.

Claire Drier hits an outside shot in the second half of Friday’s 52-48 win at Loyal.VALORIE BRECHT/TRIBUNE RECORD GLEANER