Gillett girls basketball team handed 1st loss by Coleman

Not much went right for the Gillett Secondary School girls basketball team in its Marinette & Oconto Conference battle with Coleman on Dec. 13 in Gillett.

Gillett was limited to just four points in the first half and the Tigers trailed by 19 by halftime. The hosts were able to score at a better clip in the second half, but were never able to truly threaten Coleman in what was a battle between the conference’s last two unbeaten teams.

“We obviously weren’t ready to play,” said Gillett senior Carleigh Kaczmarek, noting the team hadn’t played the greatest of competition of late and was dealing with some sicknesses.

“But there was no excuse for us to play like that so we just have to be ready to play Friday (against Niagara), and bring intensity.”

Gillett struggled against Coleman’s full-court pressure. The problem wasn’t so much dribbling up the court as it was simply inbounding the ball. Several early turnovers led to a few buckets for Coleman, but the bigger impact was that Gillett was hardly getting up any offensive shots.

By the time the Tigers scored their first points nearly eight minutes into the game, Coleman was ahead 7-2. It took another seven-plus minutes for the hosts to score again, at which point Coleman led 16-4.

While Gillett’s defense limited Coleman to 23 first-half points, only scoring four points of its own proved to be the team’s downfall.

“They had very good defense,” said Gillett senior Cheyenne Krueger of Coleman. “We don’t handle pressure very well and they were right up in our faces. Our offense, we weren’t moving enough…”

It took over three minutes for Gillett to score in the second half. Coleman squashed any hopes of a comeback effort by outscoring the hosts 6-2 over the first five minutes.

Gillett finally was able to get into a bit of a rhythm on offense in the middle portion of the second half. The Tigers hit three field goals and a couple free throws over that stretch, with Coleman only hitting a 3-pointer during the time.

Coleman put the game away for good with a 7-0 run after that.

The Tigers ended the game on another 8-3 run to alleviate some of the disappointment in the showing overall.

Kaczmarek said the game showed the team that, “We should be working harder, and that’s what we want to end up being like at the end of the season is a team like that.”

“We’re definitely walking out a little bit sore, it definitely wasn’t our best game,” said Krueger. “We’re hoping, or we will next game, give them a run for their money, give them something to work for. It was difficult (tonight).”

Sophomore Cilena Guns hit three of the team’s nine field goals in the game and led the team with six points. Sophomore Lily Hansen hit two shots and had five points.

Coleman 23 19 — 42

Gillett 4 18 — 22

Coleman (42): Bre Hanrahan 0-0 2, Alyssa Hoida 2-2 2, Aubrey Bintz 1-2 13, Cameron Zeitler 1-3 6, Madelyn Hinther 1-2 5, Corrin Liptak 0-0 4, Skylar Broderick 0-0 2, Kiersten Jensen 1-2 8.

Gillett (22): Laney DeBauch 0-0 2, Lily Hansen 1-2 5, Kasey Hansen 0-2 0, Halle Fisher 0-0 2, Bella Matczak 1-2 1, Cilena Guns 0-0 6, Carleigh Kaczmarek 2-2 4, Cheyenne Krueger 0-0 2.

sports@newmedia-wi.com