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Sunny. High 37F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..
Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low near 10F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Updated: February 2, 2023 @ 8:02 am
Gilmour Lancers girls’ basketball Coach Tyler Hammond acknowledged his team was missing something in the first half last Saturday afternoon.
Usually a strong finishing team, the Lancers left 18 points at the rim and trailed 27-20 against Hathaway Brown heading into the half.
Even Gilmour junior center Helen Holley missed some easy looks.
“It is one of those games where it may just been a mental thing because it was a big crowd there and it was loud and a great atmosphere,” the first-year coach said. “I do not know. I wish I had the magic potion or elixir but it just was not what we do.”
The Lancers suffered one of their worst shooting games of the season and lost 52-44 against Hathaway Brown at Shaker Heights, for their second loss in their last four games.
After racing out to a 12-1 record, Gilmour’s (14-3) schedule continues to be difficult with the loss against the Blazers marking the second consecutive defeat against a Division I program.
Hammond said that playing against the Division I programs this late in the season are a good meausring stick for the Lancers.
“We are trying to be a really good progra and bring it back to where it was in the past and kind of figure out what kind of team we are when we schedule those games,” he said.
Hathaway Brown tried using a zone defense against the Lancers in the first period but Gilmour made them pay when junior guards Katie Puletti, Nicci Finazzo and senior forward Molly Moore each scored a 3-point shot.
Hammond said the Blazers instantly abandoned the zone defense after Gilmour hit its third 3-pointer of the period and went man-to-man.
The Lancers tried attacking the basket but had to get past the defense of junior center Molly Castellanos.
In most of Gilmour’s games this season, they have usually had plenty of size to control the paint and dominate inside but the Blazers were one of the few teams that also have some big bodies to throw out on the court.
The 6-foot-2 Castellanos played good defense and the Lancers could not get to the bucket as easily.
Even with Hathaway Brown having Castellanos to patrol the paint, Gilmour kept her impact strictly on the defense end with the 5-foot-11 Moore guarding her.
Although Holley is Gilmour’s tallest player standing at 6-foot-1, Moore also has been a strong presence inside for the Lancers.
“Molly is solid and plays great defense and plays well and has great close-outs and has a high motor,” said Hammond. “We as a staff thought senior forward Jermani Jones was more of a scorer with her drop-step and post-up so we wanted Helen’s motor to start with her.”
Moore limited Castellanos to only one point in the game.
The Blazers also hit some long-distance shots in the opening period and took a 16-12 lead at the end of the quarter.
Gilmour’s offense went cold in the second period and could not hit a 3-point shot.
Hammond admitted that Castellanos’ presence inside deterred his team from attacking the paint and settled for the jump shots.
Even when the Lancers did go to the basket, they just could not finish.
“It is one of those things where Castellanos was clogging up the paint on drives and finishes and we just were not ready to finish at the rim as much as we usually are on Saturday,” Hammond said.
It was a physical duel in the second quarter and the Blazers outscored Gilmour by an 11-8 margin to take a seven-point advantage at the half.
According to Hammond, the Blazers were getting the same easy looks Gilmour had but were finishing and dominated inside and controlled the glass.
It was a carbon copy of the Lancers’ style of success, only this time they were on the receiving end of it.
After missing so many easy looks in the first half, Hammond said he knew his team faced an uphill climb to get back into it.
“I looked at Nicole Heffington, who is my assistant and I said, I know we were not making some threes but we are missing some bunnies at the rim too and it is going to be a dogfight all day,” he said. “We were going to have to battle but that is what we did and we just came up short.”
Gilmour’s shooting woes continued in the third period, including being scoreless from beyond the 3-point line.
Hammond acknowledged it was not the first game the Lancers were plagued by poor shooting, but they usually overcame that by igniting their offense through their defense.
Despite forcing 30 turnovers, Gilmour could not spark its offense in the fast break.
“They got all of the 50-50 balls in the game and there were some times we never got it,” Hammond said. “They were on the floor diving for them and were grabbing them and snatching them and got all of the 50-50 balls. That was some point where it was part of the game where it seemed at some points of the game they wanted it a little more.”
The Blazers pushed their lead to 41-30 after outscoring Gilmour by a 14-10 margin in the third quarter and Gilmour could not trim the lead.
The Lancers’ rally was quelled by shooting only 3-of-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth period and shot only 46% from the line.
Gilmour’s loss did not take overshadow it receiving the third seed in the Division II tournament, marking its highest seed, since being the number two seed for the 2019 postseason.
“It is great,” Hammond said. “Obviously with it being my first year it is amazing but I am just happy for the girls and the program. The girls have worked so hard since I got the job in June by getting ready in the summer and lifting weights and getting ready in the fall for preseason stuff. I am just happy for them that they have put in all of this work that they have put in for the season and it means something.”
Gilmour improved its record to 15-3 when it routed John Hay 66-28 on Monday evening.
Following a home contest against Walsh Jesuit on Wednesday evening, the Lancers will play at GlenOak at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
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