February 26, 2018 at 1:41 p.m.
Bluejays outlast Lady Hodags in regional semis
Bluejays outlast Lady Hodags in regional semis
Merrill shot 70 percent from the field and the trio of Elizabeth Iribarren, Patience Pyan and Maddix Bonnell combined to score 53 points as the fourth-seeded Bluejays defeated the fifth-seeded Hodags 66-56 Friday night in Merrill in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal.
The Hodags shot 45 percent, but never led in the game as Merrill's big three kept Rhinelander at arm's length. Bonnell and Pyan, a pair of slashing guards, beat the Hodags inside and outside and the 5-11 Iribarren was too much for Rhinelander to control in the post. She made her last seven shots and finished with a career-high 20 points.
"They were just a little bit too much for us," coach Ryan Clark said. "We battled them. Sometimes we had two freshmen coming in there, good experience for them, but Merrill's a good basketball team. We have nothing to hang our head on."
Every time the Hodags tried to make a run, Merrill had an answer. The Bluejays used a 20-9 run to open the second half to stretch their lead to 19 and held on as Rhinelander made a late push to cut the lead to single digits with just more than a minute to play.
"Tonight they battled, gave me everything they had," Clark said of his team. "I should have probably made some different adjustments here and there, but credit to the kids. They battled. This was a good basketball game against a good basketball team and I thought we did as well as we could."
Kenedy Van Zile scored 25 points for a third straight game for the Hodags and senior Ally Seefeldt added 14, but Rhinelander didn't have enough firepower to keep up with the Bluejays.
Rhinelander hung around in the first half, despite shooting 7 of 18 from the field. Twelve made free throws in the opening half allowed Rhinelander to hang around. The Hodags were within two points at 19-17 with 6:12 left in the half from thanks to a pair of free throws by Seefeldt, but Merrill inched away an Pyan made a contested runner with two seconds left to give The Bluejays a 36-28 lead at the break.
A Bunnell layup, a Iribarren post basket and a Pyan 3 gave Merrill a 7-0 run to start the second half. That set the tone for the final 18 minutes as Merrill's big three took over. Iribarren was particularly lethal in the posed, as she finished the night 10 of 12.
"She's a big, physical strong kid in the post," Clark said. "She didn't play the last time we saw them and that makes them lethal. You can't leave their shooters and then they isolate her. Joelene does a good job of coaching them, putting them in spots where it makes you really expendable on defense."
Rhinelander didn't have the height to contend with Iriabarren, especially with six-foot post player Erika Jorgensen scratched from the contest with a knee injury she suffered in Wednesday night's tourney opener against Waupaca.
"Her length gives other people issues so you can front and they can't get the ball over the top of her and she can get a lot of rebounds," Clark said. "In that aspect, she was a big loss. Then, in the press, Merrill does a good job of kicking up and seeing the floor, and she covers well back there."
Pyan finished with 17 points while Bonnell had 16 to eclipse 1,000 points for her career.
The Hodags, who have tried to force tempo most of the season, attempted to slow down the pace slightly against Merrill talented backcourt. Rhinelander abandoned that strategy with 13 minutes remaining.
Merrill pushed the lead to 19 with 11 minutes remaining. Rhinelander fought back with an 11-4 run to pull within 12 with 4:40 remaining, but could never catch the Bluejays down the stretch.
The loss spelled the end of the careers for Hodag seniors Seefeldt, Alayna Franson, Lexie Rick, Molly Wagler and Maddie Meyer.
"They were eighth graders when I took over the program," Clark said. "Even when they were little eighth graders, their personality was just unique. They were just a fun-loving group. I just love them. They've been so great for our program as teammates - committed, coachable - and they would just work so hard."
Wagler finished with eight points for Rhinelander and Meyer chipped in five.
The Hodags close the season with a 14-10 record, which included a runner-up finish in the Great Northern Conference.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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