The Wolverines struggled to get shots to go down and had difficulties aplenty with the Royals’ full-court press. The Wolverines were only able to hit two field goals in the first half, building up a 23-5 deficit to the now-10-3 Royals. GMG had numerous turnovers and struggled to get into its normal offense.

The press was the key to the game, GMG head coach Justin Hornberg said.

“Played really well for two minutes, and then our heads exploded,” Hornberg said. “We have not had this much problem handling pressure in a year, or probably three years. If we had 10 shots in the first half, I’d be surprised.”

The Wolverines were led in scoring by Belle Duncan and Jordan Yilek, who each scored eight points. The leading scorer in the game was Emma Stalzer of Colo-NESCO, who had 12 points and was the only player to reach double-figures.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Hornberg said getting Duncan going offensively would be key in the next few games for GMG, singling out her motor and ability to play for long stretches as important for the Wolverines to progress on that end of the floor.

“Belle Duncan’s been playing great all year,” Hornberg said.

The second half went better for the Wolverines, scoring 22 points to counter the five scored in the first 16 minutes. However, the Royals continued to feast in the paint with Stalzer and Gracie Kettwig, controlling the boards and getting second-chance points. Rebounding has been a struggle all year, Hornberg said.

It’s an issue which has led to too many opposition buckets and will continue to be an issue with the team’s lack of size, he added.

“We’ve had issues rebounding all year long. That’s an ongoing thing,” Hornberg said. “Unless we can control the defensive glass and limit to one shot, there’s going to be a second-chance opportunity.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 3-11 on the year.

Hornberg said there were positives to take away from the second half, but not enough to make up for the poor first 16 minutes.

“Our problem is that we find something that works we tend to not go back to it quick enough,” Hornberg said.

Colo-NESCO 58, GMG 27

At Garwin

COLO-NESCO (10-3, 7-1) — Ayvarie Bappe 2 1-2 6, Lauryn Hill 1 0-2 2, Rylee Purvis 4 0-0 8, Megan Carlson 2 0-0 5, Emma Stalzer 6 0-2 12, Emily Brinkman 2 0-0 5, Jenna Banks 1 0-0 2, Emily Hostetler 0 0-0 0, Allie Britten 1 2-4 4, McKenzie Niemeyer 1 0-1 2, Izabell Voelker 1 0-0 3, Gracie Kettwig 4 1-6 9. TOTALS 25 4-17 58.

GMG (3-11, 2-6) — Belle Duncan 4 0-1 8, Ashlyn Plowman 0 0-0 0, Emily Vaughn 1 1-4 3, Jordan Yilek 4 0-0 8, Jenna Yilek 1 2-5 4, Lana Carter 0 0-0 0, Colby Miller 1 0-0 2, Angel Schewe 0 0-0 0, Kaylea Duden 0 0-0 0, Stephenie Claussen 0 0-0 0, Rachel Slifer 0 0-0 0, Marriah Stonewall 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 11 5-12 27.

COLO-NESCO 15 8 17 18 — 58

GMG 3 2 6 16 — 27

3-Point Goals–C-N 4 (Bappe, Brinkman, Voelker, Carlson). Total Fouls–C-N 16, GMG 14. Fouled Out–none.