Neither Gilman City High School basketball team was able to pick up a win on Wednesday morning at North Central Missouri College’s Holiday Hoops as the Hawks were swept by Hale. Gilman was downed 57-54 in the boys contest, which was played first, and the girls followed suit, losing 57-25.
Gilman City Girls
Gilman City’s girls struggled against Hale’s press in the early going, falling behind 15-8 in the opening quarter. Gilman’s offense was stymied even more in the second quarter where the Hawks netted just four more points. Hale continued to keep Gilman’s offense in check in the second half, pulling away throughout the game for a lop-sided 32-point victory.
The lone bright spot for Gilman was the play of Hailey Burrows. Burrows, already signed to play with North Central next year at the collegiate level, scored 20 of her team’s 25 points.
With the loss, Gilman dropped to 2-7 on the season.
Gilman City Boys
The boys’ contest was a game of scoring runs. Gilman held a 13-9 lead after the opening quarter, but Hale used a 10-2 run to grab the lead midway through the second quarter. Gilman answered with an 8-0 run of its own and a separate 7-0 run late in the half gave Gilman a 30-25 edge at the break.
Beginning in the third quarter it was once again Hale’s turn to show the way and the Cardinals opened the second half on a 12-2 run. Hale would push the lead to 10 points before Gilman reeled off 12 straight unanswered points to put itself back in front. From there the teams battled to a 54-54 stalemate with one minute left in the contest.
The Cardinals, who were just two-of-seven from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to that point, would hit three-for-four tosses from the charity stripe in the final minute to break the tie. Gilman had two three-point opportunities on its final possession, but both landed short as Hale held on for the narrow win.
Cornelius Peery, who was nine-for-11 from the free-throw line, led the Hawks with 25 points. Kaleb Bjornlie added 11 points and Skylar Reynolds added eight for Gilman City.
With the loss, the Gilman boys dropped to 2-7 overall on the season as well.
Both Gilman City squads will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 3, playing host to Green City in Gilman. Action tips off with the girls’ game at 6 p.m. and the boys’ contest will follow.