Gladiators dominate Nimrods

ONTONAGON - Ontonagon had its best night of the season offensively as the Gladiators defeated shorthanded Watersmeet 62-32 Thursday.

The Nimrods won the first matchup 37-35 in the season opener. But Watersmeet, which only has six players on its roster to begin with, was missing senior captain Jessica Barajas (illness) this time. Plus, Ontonagon has played better of late, especially offensively, picking up its fourth straight victory.

The Gladiators reached 51 points twice this season, both within the last 11 days. They beat that mark by 11 points Thursday.

Ontonagon had 12 of those points, just 3:09 into the game, forcing a Watersmeet timeout with the score at 12-2.

"We rattled them a little bit with the press and got off to a lead," Ontonagon coach Dick Franti said. "Certainly the fact they didn't have Barajas was a factor for them, I think, on both ends on the floor. She's not only a good shooter, she's a good defender."

The Gladiators just kept rolling from there. Watersmeet's Bethany Baldwin fouled out with seven minutes left in the game, leaving four players on the floor for the Nimrods.

"That's what we were always afraid of, if somebody fouled out," Watersmeet coach Norm Ellenberger said. "But that didn't hurt us. They had already decided the game for us. He's got control of his offense, they're running their stuff, playing hard. We didn't have any match for anything tonight."

Three players scored in double figures for Ontonagon. Alyssa Preiss had 17, Paige Blake 15 and Lori Wardynski 13.

"We're shooting a little better," Franti said. "Alyssa Preiss is starting to shoot the ball a little bit better. Paige is a little more consistent. Hope (Pintar) is chipping in. They're giving Lori some help. I don't want to say significantly (better), but certainly a little more consistent anyway. We still turn it over too much. We still have defensive lapses and don't rebound like we should."

Wardynski's offense has been there pretty much the whole season.

"She's pretty steady," Franti said. "Sometimes she gets in the mode when she tries to do a little too much. At least offensively, she's given us double figures most nights."

Baldwin led Watersmeet with 10 points and Frannie Zelinski had nine. Watersmeet's offense hit double digits in one quarter, the second, when the Nimrods put 15 points on the board. Baldwin had seven points in the second, while Rebecca Caron and Sierra Griffin both had four.

"In that second quarter, Zelinski was able to bust through the press and get it to (teammates) for easy buckets," Franti said. "They had for sure their best quarter there.

"We were trying to pay close attention to Baldwin and Zelinski. Zelinski is so fast, though, that she can get by you. One little head fake and she's by you."

Ontonagon (7-7) hosts Ewen-Trout Creek Monday. Watersmeet (6-6) goes to Republic-Michigamme Saturday.

Watersmeet - Bethany Baldwin 10, Frannie Zelinski 9, Rebecca Caron 5, Sierra Griffin 8. FTs: 5-13. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: Baldwin. 3-pointers: Zelinski 2, Baldwin 1.

Ontonagon - Aleksei Pestka 2, Alyssa Preiss 17, Paige Blake 15, Logan Preiss 3, Lori Wardynski 13, Taylor Saari 2, Hope Pintar 9, Rebecca Karttunen 1. FTs: 8-15. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: A. Preiss 3, L. Preiss 1.

Watersmeet 2 17 23 32

Ontonagon 17 33 47 62