STAA’s Brooklynn Rennie and Gillett’s Lily Hansen compete for a loose ball during the second half of Monday’s Marinette and Oconto Conference game in Marinette.
STAA's Kate Peters drives between Gillett's Isabella Matczak (front) and Cilena Guns (back) during the first half of Monday's Marinette and Oconto Conference game in Marinette. Peters led the Cavalettes with four points.
STAA’s Brooklynn Rennie and Gillett’s Lily Hansen compete for a loose ball during the second half of Monday’s Marinette and Oconto Conference game in Marinette.
STAA's Kate Peters drives between Gillett's Isabella Matczak (front) and Cilena Guns (back) during the first half of Monday's Marinette and Oconto Conference game in Marinette. Peters led the Cavalettes with four points.
MARINETTE — The Gillett girls basketball team rolled to its 34th consecutive victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy after blowing out the Cavalettes 51-9 in Monday’s Marinette and Oconto Conference game.
The Tigers (5-4 M&O, 10-5 overall) have not lost to STAA in over two decades and were bound and determined to keep that streak alive on Monday, as Gillett started the game by ripping off 25 unanswered points to put the Cavalettes in an early hole.
Gillett lived on the perimeter in the first half, with over half (15) of its 25 points coming courtesy of the 3-point shot.
“Our goal coming into this game was to rebound much better than we have been, and I think that, while offensively we attacked the glass, we still need improvement defensively,” Tigers coach Gary Regal said. “We emphasized swinging the ball around and getting it to the elbow, and then we didn’t hesitate. We turned and we were shot-ready. I was happy with our offensive ball movement.”
Brooklynn Rennie broke STAA’s scoreless drought at the 7:41 mark with a second-chance bucket, while Kate Peters sank back-to-back layups to build a bit of offensive momentum for the Cavalettes.
STAA’s defense held Gillett without a basket for the final seven minutes of the first half to keep the Tigers’ lead at 25-6 entering halftime.
“Once again, we did not give up,” STAA’s ever-positive coach Cindy Powers said. “Every game, we get better at something different and it’s going to come all together. We’re building confidence and they’ve gotten better.”
With only five players suited up for Monday’s contest, the Cavalettes began to wear down in the second half, as the Tigers reeled off 26 unanswered points to race out to a 45-point advantage.
Jenna Maxwell clanged home a triple with 31.2 ticks remaining on the clock to prevent STAA from being shutout in the second half.
Maxwell finished with three points. Peters led the Cavalettes with four points while Rennie added two.
“We just can’t have two or three kids always shooting, they all need to be involved,” Powers opined. “They need to move the ball and the others need to start shooting. We need more shots. We need to keep firing.”
Cilena Guns topped all scorers with 15 points while Carleigh Kaczmarek chipped in 12 for Gillett. Lily Hansen and Cheyenne Krueger each tacked on six.
STAA (0-9 M&O, 1-12 overall) traveled to Suring on Tuesday, with results unavailable at press time. The Cavalettes travel to Niagara for another M&O Conference tilt on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
