Pirates fend off pesky Hornets

GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Gilman Pirates completed a regular- season sweep of Colby Tuesday but for the second time this season, it wasn’t easy.

The now 2-14 Hornets battled Gilman tooth and nail to the final three minutes when the visiting Pirates finally put together a 13-4 run to put them away 69-59 and maintain their hold on a share of second place in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference.

Tatum Weir was unstoppable when she got the ball inside, recording a monster 32-point, 19-rebound double-double for the Pirates, who improved to 7-3 in the league and 10-5 overall. Danielle Mann had a 19-point, 13-point doubledouble and sophomore Claire Drier made an impact with a handful of big plays and eight points.

“The girls played hard against a very aggressive Colby team,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said. “They were all over us, but we kept our heads in the game and controlled the pace the whole way through.”

Colby’s zone defense and some backcourt ball pressure created 19 Gilman turnovers and the Hornets made some things happen by grabbing 16 of their 29 rebounds on the offensive end. While the rebounds and steals gave Colby shot opportunities, they didn’t make enough to pull off the upset, hitting just 10 of 29 3-point shots and 11 of 37 two-point tries.

Gilman was an impressive 27 of 43 inside the arc and finished with a 41-29 overall edge in rebounding. The Pirates had 13 steals of their own, including five from Drier and four from Weir.

Colby built a 21-14 lead midway through a high-scoring first half, capped by a Harrison Schmitt 3-pointer. Gilman responded with an 8-0 run that included a Weir basket off an Allie Olynick assist, another Weir hoop off a Mann assist, two Weir free throws and a Drier steal and score. From there, the lead changed seven times before the end of the half. Mann beat a double team in the post and scored with 57 seconds left to give Gilman a 37-35 halftime lead.

Ava Warner’s only basket of the night was a 3-pointer to open the second half and Mann scored off a Weir assist to open up a 42-36 lead, but Colby inched its way back and took a 52-51 lead with 7:14 left following a 3-pointer from Angelique Hernandez and a coast-to-coast drive from Kylie Orth.

Drier’s mid-range jumper put Gilman back on top, but Hernandez hit another 3 to put Colby up 55-53. Mann’s lob found Weir down low and she converted a three-point play with 5:01 left to put the Pirates up 56-55. It stayed that way until Weir knocked down a 3 with 3:57 left. Weir’s putback near the three-minute mark opened up a six-point lead that Colby could only get as low as four the rest of the way.

Mann had a team-high five assists, while Olynick and Weir had four apiece, Drier had three and Kayleigh James added two. James scored six points, including two free throws with 53.6 seconds left that extended the lead to eight. She had two steals.

Olynick had a point and a steal. Hernandez led Colby, who is 2-7 in league play, with 14 points. Hayden Willner added 13.

Gilman is tied with Columbus Catholic for second place in the conference standings behind undefeated Neillsville, who invades Gilman tonight, Thursday, for a 6:30 p.m. game that was postponed by weather last Thursday. Gilman will look for some revenge Friday when it hosts Spencer at 6:30 p.m. The Rockets won the season’s first meeting 39-32 way back on Nov. 18. The Pirates will visit an improved Owen-Withee squad on Feb. 2.