March 30, 2015 at 1:02 p.m.
Youth hoops teams compete at state
RBA fifth-graders take 17th, sixth-graders 23rd
Youth hoops teams compete at state
The fifth-graders, who competed in Appleton, struggled early in the tournament, but coach Melissa Ouimette said her group
finished incredibly strong, taking 17th in the tournament with a record of 4-2.
"The fifth-graders lost their first two games," she said. "We had an unfortunate luck of the draw. They put us in a pool with two teams that were fighting for fifth and seventh place. Most pools didn't have three top teams in them like ours did. We ended up being put into a different pool after we lost those first two games, and then we won our next four."
The Hodags fell to New Berlin West 28-20 and Kaukanua 34-17 in pool
play. It wasn't a matter of the Hodags suffering a slow start or not playing to their full potential. Ouimette said the opposite was true. The team gave it their all from the tournament's start to the very finish.
"Those were tough-fought games," she said. "It wasn't like we just rolled over. We played tough defense and we hustled back. We got into some foul trouble in the first game and that's what hurt us. We were in both of those games."
After dropping the first two games, Ouimette said she gave her team a quick pep talk and knew her girls would respond. The Hodags defeated Appleton West 30-20, Medford 28-21, Onalaska 37-12 and DeForest 33-23 to take 17th place.
"When the third game rolled around, I told the girls there was no way we were losing another game," she said. "They went out there and they played their hearts out to win the next four. We were never even down. We led the whole way. I was very proud with the way the fifth-grade group played. They played hard. We pressed almost the entire game, and we got into foul trouble a couple times, so some people never even left the floor for a couple games.
"We still ran teams up and down the floor. We never quit and we never let up. I'm very proud with how hard they finished and I'm excited because this team should be ranked pretty highly in the Great Northwest Basketball League next year because we beat every team we played against them."
The sixth-graders, who competed at Merrill, also struggled at times. Ouimette trusted the team to assistant coach Dave Schiek, but kept close tabs throughout the tournament. They finished the tournament with a 2-4 record and a 23rd place finish, but Ouimette said they may have succumbed to nerves early on.
"The sixth-graders played their first game against a top-rated team who won the whole thing last year and haven't lost a game in two years," she said. "We weren't really in that game. They run that dribble-drive attack and they were scoring pretty good on us. Dave (Schiek) said that after that, the Hodags could play with every team they played against. In the last three games, they played as a team and won two of them."
The Hodags went 0-3 in pool play, falling to Kaukauna 55-11, Pulaski 30-12 and Notre Dame 35-19. In Sunday's placement pool, Rhinelander started with a 26-25 win over Medford, lost to Holmen 28-24 and defeated Mosinee 28-17.
It was in those final three games that Ouimette said the sixth-graders played the kind of basketball she knows they're capable of.
"They played their offense, played with more confidence and were settling in. They were comfortable and smart. Once they got there, got over the nerves and got their game going, they played great. The beat Mosinee and Medford for the Great Northwest. They should be ranked pretty highly in the league too at the start of next season."
Ouimette said both teams should be more than proud of the season they put together. She worked them hard from start to finish, but they responded with an incredible work ethic and an enthusiasm for the game.
"They have worked their tails off," she said. "They've had more practices than the varsity team even. I practiced with one grade from 5 to 7 p.m. and the other grade from 6 to 8 p.m., so there was one hour in the middle of overlap where we'd do a lot of full-court stuff. Some of the players would even stay for the whole three hours and some of them have never even played. I'm not an easy coach. I make them work hard. It's not a cakewalk. I'm so proud of them."
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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