GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL - Tough back-to-back nights for the Pirates after blowout win in Cornell

GILMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Gilman Pirates hoped five nonconference games would have them ready for Tuesday’s Eastern Cloverbelt Conference opener with Owen-Withee, but the Pirates buckled under the Blackhawks’ defensive pressure and were humbled by the visitors 72-40.

The resounding win broke Owen-Withee’s four-year, seven-game losing streak to the Pirates. One night after committing 25 turnovers at Alma Center Lincoln, Gilman again struggled to take care of the basketball.

Most of the damage came against Owen- Withee’s 1-2-1-1 full court, zone pressure. Even when that press didn’t force turnovers, it sped the Pirates up and got them out of the early rhythm they did have on offense.

After leading 13-12 midway through the first half, Gilman was outscored 18-5 to end the half. The Pirates didn’t make a second half field goal in the first eight minutes, when Danielle Mann hit a 3-pointer. By then Gilman was down 4720. Owen-Withee finished the game with a 14-3 run to push its lead into the 30s.

Gilman fell to 3-3 overall. The Blackhawks are 4-1.

The Pirates were in good shape very early, taking a 9-4 lead on a Kayleigh James basket, an Addy Vick score off a James assist, a 3-ball from Mann and Vick’s bank shot from the free throw line with 13:10 left in the first half. Out of a timeout, Owen-Withee cranked up the pressure and also started to find the cracks in Gilman’s zone defense.

Owen-Withee led 30-18 at the half. Then with the press wearing the Pirates down, Owen-Withee got its transition game going in the second half and outscored Gilman 42-22.

Mann did score 20 points for the Pirates in the loss. Vick scored six, James had five before fouling out and Claire Drier scored four points. Allie Olynick hit a first-half 3-pointer and Orth finished with two points.

Reina Arndt led Owen-Withee with 18 points, while Geneva Capetillo scored 16.

Gilman heads to Colby on Friday for conference game number two. The Pirates will be at Lake Holcombe for a nonconference game Monday before hosting

Greenwood on Dec. 14.

Hornets 62, Pirates 34

On Monday, Gilman came out on the short end of a physical non-conference match with Alma Center Lincoln, who rolled to a 62-34 home win over the Pirates.

With a couple of pieces still remaining from a team that went 24-2 last year, the Hornets improved to 3-2 this year. They’ve held each opponent they’ve beaten under 35 points.

The Pirates held their own in rebounding, holding a 27-25 edge, but turnovers and some foul trouble were key factors in preventing Gilman from finding any kind of offensive flow.

“We got into foul trouble in the first half,” Weir said. “Claire Drier was on the bench for a bit in the half which hurt because we needed her speed on the court with our 1-3-1 defense. We had to switch things up and play some 3-2. We were a big sluggish and just couldn’t find our rhythm with the 1-3-1. ”

Mann led Gilman in scoring with 14 points and she grabbed eight rebounds and four steals. Orth had seven points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Olynick had five points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. James had the same numbers. Vick added three points, three rebounds and three assists.

Gilman 67, Cornell 38

Gilman’s trapping pressure gave Cornell fits and the offense started to click late in the first half and well into the second Thursday in the Pirates’ 67-38 nonconference win over the Chiefs.

The Pirates trailed 9-7 midway through the first half when they finally turned some offensive rebounds and steals into points and got a 3-point shot from Olynick in a 17-6 run that put them ahead 24-15 at halftime.

The Pirates knocked down six 3-pointers in the second half, including four from Mann, to blow things wide open with the lead getting as high as 33 at 59-26 when James hit the last of Gilman’s 3s. Gilman opened the half with a 16-4 run that included 3s from Olynick and Mann to go up 40-19. Another 16-2 blitz pushed the lead to 33.

“We took care of the ball pretty well,” coach Weir said. “It was a little sloppy at times. We forced 29 turnovers with 21 steals in our 1-3-1. The scoring was allaround, which was great to see.”

Mann finished with 22 points, including four 3s. She added eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Olynick hit double figures for the second straight game with 13 points and had seven steals, four rebounds and two assists. Then there was good balance the rest of the way with Orth scoring nine points, James scoring eight and Drier scoring six. Vick added four points, Raygen Soper banked in a 3 for her first varsity points and Aubrey Steinbach hit a long two-point shot in the second half. Vick had three assists, while James and Steinbach had two each. James and Orth pulled down six rebounds each, Vick had five and Drier had four. Drier had three steals. James, Orth and Steinbach had two each.

“The girls are figuring out our 1-3-1, but we still have some holes in the defense to fill,” Weir said. “Our shooting was on (19 of 45 on two-point shots and 8 of 23 on 3s), but our rebounds were about even (Gilman 35-32).”