Emily Wheeler also had a double-double for the Knights with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

“It was good for the senior (Giannini) to step up and lead the way,” Eisenhower coach Mike Logue said. “She’s had good back-to-back games with 18 points Thursday.”

With the teams deadlocked at 4-4 with two minutes to go in the first quarter, Giannini went to work. She got a put back and sank a pair of free throws before hitting a layup just before the buzzer to give Eisenhower a 10-5 lead after the first eight minutes.

She began to dominate the paint in the second quarter and scored another seven points in the frame, largely on rebounds and turnovers.

Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg Sheffield’s Marissa Grubbs (11) fires a pass past Eisenhower’s Emily Wheeler (4) during the second half of their game at Eisenhower High School, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. Wheeler had 11 points and 10 rebounds to help the Knights to a 46-23 win over the Wolverines.

“We had no urge to attack the basket,” Sheffield coach Brandon Troutman said. “Our rebounding, defense and passing were terrible. It’s becoming a huge factor in our play.”

The Knights began to methodically pull away from the Wolverines in the second quarter and led 15-5. A late Sheffield surge got them within six, but the Knights responded and held a 19-11 advantage going into the second half.

Sheffield was without a pair of its playmakers, Annabel Sheldon (illness) and Allison Schmader (personal), but Troutman said their absence didn’t excuse the poor play.

“The things that hurt us tonight were turnovers and a lack of scoring,” he said. “Them being out was a factor, but it doesn’t excuse the turnovers.”

The Wolverines kept the game within single digits through most of the third quarter, but the Knights had pushed their advantage to 29-19 entering the final stanza.

Emiley Wheeler scored a career-high 28 points for Eisenhower in their win over Tidioute on Monday.

The fourth quarter belonged to Eisenhower.

The Knights outscored the Wolverines 17-4 through the final eight minutes, and Wheeler and Giannini combined for 10 of the 17 points.

“The other county teams is how we guage ourselves,” Logue said. “We’ve started out very well. We want to keep working hard and take that into the next couple of weeks.”

Mareena Bailey led the Wolverines with nine points.

The Knights will look to make it a clean sweep of county opponents when they host Tidioute Monday.

Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg Sheffield’s Lily Lauffenberger (5) puts up a shot over Eisenhower’s Lydia Giannini (50) and Emily Wheeler (4) during their game at Eisenhower High School, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. The Knights defeated the Wolverines, 46-23.

Eisenhower won the junior varsity game, 42-20.

Lilee Renninger led Eisenhower with 19 points.

Madeline Roell had nine points for Sheffield.

– – –

Sheffield (23)

Bailey 4-1-1-9, M. Grubbs 2-0-0-4, Dunham 1-1-2-3, Lauffenberger 0-3-5-3, Nelson 0-3-5-3, Leitchenberger 0-1-2-1, McCracken 0-0-0-0, Roell 0-0-0-0, Gregerson 0-0-0-0, K. Grubbs 0-0-0-0, McLaughlin 0-0-0-0, Team 7-8-13-23

Eisenhower (46)

Giannini 8-6-19-22, Wheeler 5-1-4-11, Renninger 2-1-1-5, Chase 2-0-0-4, Beaver 2-0-0-4, Strausser 0-0-0-0, Olsen 0-0-0-0, Mohney 0-0-0-0, Courtney 0-0-0-0, Smith 0-0-0-0, Team 19-8-24-46

By quarters

Sheffield 5 6 8 4 – 23

Eisenhower 10 9 10 17 – 46

3-point FGs: Sheffield-None. Eisenhower-None