This story is sponsored by: High Street Salon, Spa & Travel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Elizabeth Manlick scored seven of her game-high 22 points in the final 1:18 of the third quarter to spark a key run and lead the Marshfield Columbus Catholic girls basketball team to a 45-31 win over Gilman in a Cloverbelt Conference East Division game Thursday night at Columbus Catholic High School.
Gilman scored eight straight points to cut Columbus’ lead to 26-25 before Manlick and the Dons regained control.
Manlick converted a four-point play with a deep 3-pointer, Paige Thornton scored and Manlick had a steal, layup and a free throw during the Dons’ 8-2 run to put them ahead 35-27 at the end of the third quarter.
The Dons (5-4, 3-3 Cloverbelt East) turned to their defense to seal the game. Columbus contested every move by the Pirates in the fourth quarter, holding them to 1 of 10 shooting and just four points as it opened up a double-digit lead and outscored Gilman 8-1 over the final 5 minutes.
“Offensively, we struggle a little bit, we aren’t the greatest shooters in the world,” Columbus coach Bryan DeVries said. “I thought we handled their pressure well and didn’t turn the ball over much passing it. We shot the ball pretty well in the second half, which is a good thing for us.”
After a 4-4 first quarter, the two offenses got rolling in the second.
A 6-0 run gave Gilman a 10-7 lead before the Dons turned the tables with an 8-0 advantage. Manlick scored six of those points and added another layup after a steal later in the quarter to helped Columbus take a 21-13 lead into halftime.
The Dons, playing without three players due to injury, used the last week with no games to get some players used to playing some new positions.
“We were able to get a couple of kids comfortable with the 4-spot on the floor, which we had to do,” DeVries said. “There’s going to have to be some kids that step up for us, and they did tonight.”
Thornton added eight points and Hannah Stratman had eight points and eight rebounds for the Dons.
Shelby Skabroud had 15 points to lead Gilman (0-6 overall and Cloverbelt East).
Columbus hosts Augusta next Tuesday in its next game.
Dons 45, Pirates 31
Gilman 4 9 14 4 – 31
Columbus 4 17 14 10 – 45
GILMAN (31): Kendall Skabroud 3-6 1-2 7, Tiara Latz 3-14 1-3 7, Makaylen Skabroud 0-5 0-0 0, Shelby Skabroud 6-11 0-0 15, Shaelan Schmitt 1-3 0-0 2, Morgan Birkenholz 0-0 0-1 0, Steph Warminski 0-0 0-0 0, Desiree Budzinski 0-2 0-0 0. FG: 13-41. FT: 2-6. 3-pointers: 3-6 (Sh. Skabroud 3-5, Latz 0-1). Rebounds: 25 (K. Skabroud 7). Turnovers: 22. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Sh. Skabroud, M. Skabroud. Record: 0-6 overall and Cloverbelt East.
COLUMBUS (45): Paige Thornton 4-7 0-2 8, Elizabeth Manlick 6-19 8-12 22, Abby Strobel 0-2 0-0 0, Tara Brock 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Selz 2-7 0-0 5, Rachel Roehl 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Stratman 2-5 4-4 8, Rebecca Lamermayer 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Kruse 0-4 2-5 2, Abby Baierl 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 14-45. FT: 14-21. 3-pointers: 3-11 (Manlick 2-5, Selz 1-5, Baierl 0-1). Rebounds: 32 (Stratman 8). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 5-4, 3-3 Cloverbelt East.