His team did just that, rallying in the third quarter and pulling away late to top Escanaba 60-53 at the Modeltowners’ gym on Wednesday night.

The game was highlighted by physical play, crucial baskets and even two coaching technicals, with Gwinn prevailing to improve to 4-1 on the season in its final game of 2018.

Balanced scoring was beneficial for the Modeltowners, getting 18 points from senior Mallory Delmont, 12 points from senior Brooke Mannor, 10 from junior Marissa Delmont and nine from junior forward Megan Ruokolainen.

“It’s all about us taking good shots and I think that all six or seven girls that go in there and make shots,” Olsen said. “It’s just about not forcing the issue. In the middle quarters we kind of forced some stuff that doesn’t necessarily have to be.

Escanaba High School senior guard Lexi Chailler looks for a shot as Gwinn High School junior guard Marissa Delmont (left) and sophomore guard Tianna Taylor (right) look to defend in a varsity girls basketball game played at the Modeltowners' gym Wednesday night. (Journal photo by Ryan Spitza)

“If we can move the basketball, we can kind of get whatever shot we want and the girls do a really good job of taking care of the basketball. I’ve got girls who can make shots and it’s nice seeing some balanced scoring. When other coaches see balanced scoring too, it’s going to open up other stuff as well. You can’t focus on one individual.”

The Eskymos dropped to 2-2 on the year and for head coach Mike Beveridge, his team was unable to overcome the physical play of the Modeltowners while his girls couldn’t find enough baskets down the stretch.

“A big part was that our offense got a little cold,” he said. “It was a very physical game that I felt kind of got out of hand. We had to adjust to the type of game that was being played. They’re (Gwinn) a physical team and I think we just went a little cold.”

Beveridge also credited a few of his players for their performances on the floor, but still hopes to see them progress as the season continues.

“(Junior) Taylor Ray, (sophomores) Lexi Chaillier and Nicole Kamin didn’t play their best games, but they are our floor leaders and kept us in the game and got us the lead when we had it,” he said. “Those three played really hard and (senior) Katie Wilson played really good defense for us as well. They shot the ball well from the outside which was a big factor in the swing too. They (Gwinn) didn’t miss many outside shots.”

Ray put up 11 points while Chaillier had 19 and Kamin 20. Wilson added three points.

A back and forth first quarter saw Esky come out with a 17-16 lead after eight minutes.

The Eskymos built a lead in the second quarter going up 29-19 after consecutive 3-pointers from Ray and Kamin.

The Modeltowners managed to outscore the Eskymos 7-2 in the final minutes however to cut the deficit to six at halftime, a 32-26 Escanaba lead.

The Eskymos built that lead once again in the third, going up 40-30 after another triple from Ray.

The quarter was highlighted by two technical fouls, the first issued to Olsen and the second to Beveridge, both for arguing with officials.

Olsen apologized for his behavior in his post-game interview, stating it was just heat of the moment and nothing personal.

“I’m just so competitive that sometimes the competitive juices take over,” he said. “I apologize to the officials, that was all on me. I need to keep my composure obviously.”

With the calls, both coaches had to sit on the bench for the remainder of the game with their coaching box privileges taken away as a consequence of the fouls.

That’s when the Modeltowners picked things up. With the lead already cut to two points at the time of the technicals, Gwinn pulled within one at 44-43 to end the third.

Gwinn re-took the lead for the first time since the first quarter on a put-back from Ruokolainen to begin the fourth, putting the Modeltowners up 45-44.

Gwinn never looked back from there, and it became a free throw game in the fourth with the Modeltowners hitting 8 of 14 from the charity stripe in the final eight minutes to help them gradually pull away for the comeback win.

Gwinn and Esky both went 17 of 57 from the field while Gwinn was 17 of 29 from the line. The Eskymos went 14 of 25 free throw shooting.

Gwinn collected 41 rebounds with Ruokolainen grabbing 11 while Esky had 24 with Kamin getting seven.

Mannor added five assists while senior Trisha McGuire had four. Mallory Delmont had four triples in her 18-point performance.

Escanaba visits Gladstone on Friday while Gwinn is off until Jan. 3 when it visits Munising.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.