January 17, 2018 at 1:56 p.m.
Lady Hodags fall to Merrill 67-60
Lady Hodags fall to Merrill 67-60
Patience Pyan scored 12 of her team-high 20 points during the second half as the Bluejays rallied past the Hodags 67-60 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander took the lead late in the second half, but the Bluejays rallied to regain the advantage down the stretch before sealing the contest a the free throw line.
"We played hard, but we didn't play well enough to win," Hodag coach Ryan Clark said. "We did a lot of good things, but there are some things we need to clean up to beat a team like Merrill."
In particular, the Hodags struggled finishing plays around the rim at both ends of the court, Clark explained.
"The first half we're down two, 26-24, but we counted 12 missed layups inside," he said. "Five of them were pretty much gimme layups. I told the girls, 'I don't expect you to make all 12 of them, but you make 5 of 6 of them, we're probably up 10 points.' We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. They probably had eight, nine points off second chances as well. We cleaned that up in the second half."
Rhinelander's Kenedy Van Zile led all scorers with 21 points and was one of three Hodags to finish the night in double digits. She scored 15 points in the second half alone as Rhinelander played with the lead for much of the second.
"She's really a special player," Clark noted. "As small as she is, she's really a good athlete. She's crafty enough that she can get in there and get her shot off without getting blocked. She does a really good job of attacking, bringing the ball back out, getting the defense to back off and then attacks again."
But Pyan had a couple of coast-to-coast layups off of steals and set the tone for Merrill comeback and exploited an opportunity with Hodag senior Ally Seefeldt in foul trouble.
"I thought Patience kind of took over the game for them. She just made some big plays, fouled Ally out on a smart, senior play," Clark said.
Seefeldt and Brooke Mork each finished with 13 points for Rhinelander.
Lindsey Casper had 15 points for Merrill, Maddix Bonnell scored 14 and Kate Peterson added 10 - all in the second half.
Rhinelander (8-6, 5-1 Great Northern) hosts Mosinee on Friday. The Lady Hodags defeated Mosinee 76-66 back on Dec. 1.
Freelancer Bob Mainhardt contributed to this report.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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