Mann has huge night; Pirates go on the attack in 66-42 victory

Any jitters the Gilman Pirates might have had in game one were gone in game two Thursday when they attacked the basket and Flambeau’s defense from start to finish in a 66-42 win for the 202324 home opener.

Senior Danielle Mann was the tonesetter, going off for a career-high 35 points. Gilman, however, got scoring contributions from six other players, won the majority of loose-ball battles and held a 37-26 rebounding in advantage over the Falcons, who fell to 0-2 with their loss.

“Flambeau wasn’t as strong as they’ve been in years past, but we did a great job being aggressive on both ends of the court,” Gilman head coach Tammy Weir said.

Mann drilled a trio of 3-pointers in an 18-point first half, but she did most of her damage inside and while working the baselines. She also converted a couple of turnovers into points. She made 13 of 20 field-goal attempts overall and pulled down 10 rebounds for her second doubledouble in as many outings. She also had six of Gilman’s 16 steals.

Gilman never trailed, scoring the game’s first six points on a Mann 3 from the top of the key, an Allison Olynick basket and an Olynick free throw, all in the first 100 seconds. Jaylyn Orth’s long jumper from just inside the 3-point line put Gilman ahead by double digits at 14-4. Gilman got the offensive rebound after a missed free throw by Claire Drier and that led to a triple from Mann. Aubrey Steinbach’s steal then turned into another 3-ball from Mann for a 23-6 lead, the Pirates’ largest lead of the half with 7:57 left.

Flambeau made a mini run, getting within 31-22, following two scores from Elizabeth Biller-Skogstad and one from Madison Baker. But Mann hit a mid-range shot off a Drier kickout and Olynick scored in the final seconds for a 35-22 halftime lead.

Drier hit a jumper off a long rebound to start the second half to get the lead back to 15. The Falcons scored twice, then Gilman went on the knockout run, going on a 19-7 surge to put it out of reach at 56-33. Mann had 15 of Gilman’s points in that run, scoring on baseline drives, an offensive rebound and a backcourt steal. Olynick and Drier had the other baskets.

Drier scored nine points for Gilman, Orth just missed a double-double with her varsity-best eight points and 10 rebounds, Olynick scored seven points. Steinbach, Addy Vick and Kayleigh James all added three points.

Olynick had six rebounds, Drier had five, Vick had four and James grabbed two. Drier had five steals, Vick had three and Olynick had two. Orth had a steal and a blocked shot.

Ella Groothausen led Flambeau with 12 points, while Brooklyn Ludescher added 10.

The Pirates start a stretch of four games in nine days on Monday when they host Thorp in non-conference play at 7:15 p.m. Gilman will be at Cornell on Nov. 30 for a boys/girls varsity doubleheader. The boys game is at 5:45 p.m., followed by the girls.

Gilman will head to Alma Center Lincoln on Dec. 4, then host Owen-Withee the next night to start Eastern Cloverbelt Conference play.