Gilman City had trouble hitting the broadside of a barn in their 54-20 win over Braymer Tuesday night, February 17th. They were getting good looks, but everything was going astray against the Bobcats in an unfamiliar gym against a physical team. They needed to turn to defense and rebounding to keep Braymer off the scoreboard long enough to pull away. Alli Burke stepped up with a career-high 13 boards, continuing a rise in the rebounding charts that fueled the Hawks’ run to the HDC Tournament Title. She and Khloey Sperry shared rebounding honors, and the team grabbed 49 and only gave up five offensive boards against a team with three good post players.
Tenley Griffith set a record for tips for any player we’ve covered, getting 19. Despite all the missed shots, the Hawks continued to swarm on defense and chase after every rebound, and the team had 48. It was only a matter of time before the Hawks pulled away, which they did in the second half. The previous recordholder was Kristin Herndon (North Nodaway) during the 2018-19 season, when she got 17 against Nodaway-Holt.
With the win, Gilman City became HDC conference champions along with Mercer and Grundy County. Gilman City beat Mercer, Mercer beat Grundy County, and Grundy County beat Gilman City, and all three teams beat the rest of the field to set up the three way tie. It was Gilman City’s second straight title.
The Hawks were completely outplaying the Bobcats during the first quarter, but somehow, it was Braymer who was ahead when Khloe Rogers hit a 3-pointer to make it 7-5. The missed shots kept coming, but finally, Khloey Sperry hit a free throw to cut it to 7-6, and Gilman City put on a surprise press and Avery Gregg got a steal and cashed in at the free throw line to make it 8-7 after one.
Tenley Griffith, who had been working on a baseline jumper, got one to go down and Khloey Sperry followed with an inside shot over the tall Bobcat post players, only for Kimsley Bryers to bank home a three to cut it to 12-10. Gilman City finally got some separation as Khloey Sperry finally got going inside to get six and Avery Gregg got a putback as the Hawks pulled away to a 20-14 halftime lead. But Braymer was still hanging around.
Finally, Khloey Sperry started carrying the team on her shoulders, getting herself going with a 3-point play and drawing Nevaeh Scott’s third foul. She got a pair of putbacks, then Alli Burke cashed in on a steal, Avery Gregg cashed in on another, Scott picked up her fourth foul, and Hailey McClure got on the board with a triple to make it 34-16. Gilman City had only three people in the scoring column in the first half, and finally started to pull away when they started getting everyone else involved.
Abby Smith broke the run with a putback for Braymer, but the Bobcat foul trouble continued to mount and McClure cashed in at the free throw line, going three of four to make it 37-18. Khloey Sperry cashed in off an Avery Gregg steal and Tenley Griffith got a putback and turned a steal into a free throw to make it 42-18 after three.
Khloey Sperry carried the Hawks to start the fourth as she cashed in off a steal and a third-chance putback and added a free throw to make it 47-18. Tenley Griffith had a free throw, Alli Burke slashed and scored, Eliza Alldredge hit a tough shot from the baseline, and Avery Gregg aired it out to Hailey McClure for two at the end.
Khloey Sperry had 26 points for the Hawks. Tenley Griffith and Hailey McClure had 8, Avery Gregg 6, Alli Burke 4, and Eliza Alldredge 2.
Khloey Sperry had two blocks.
Alli Burke and Khloey Sperry had 13 boards. Hailey McClure had 10, Tenley Griffith 6, Paisley Taggart 4, Avery Gregg 2, and Pyper Taggart 1.
Avery Gregg had 7 assists. Khloey Sperry, Hailey McClure, Tenley Griffith, Alli Burke, and Paisley Taggart had 1.
Tenley Griffith had 19 tips. Avery Gregg had 12, Alli Burke 9, Paisley Taggart 4, Khloey Sperry 3, and Hailey McClure 1.
Tenley Griffith had 8 steals. Avery Gregg had 6, Alli Burke 5, Khloey Sperry and Hailey McClure 3, and Eliza Alldredge and Paisley Taggart had 1.
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