March 23, 2018 at 11:04 a.m.
Team review: RHS girls' basketball
Uptempo Lady Hodags racked up wins in 2017-18
Team review: RHS girls' basketball
Yet coach Ryan Clark said he knows his team still has a way to go to reach the echelon of the Hodag boys' squad.
"I don't think this is a basketball town. I think it's still a boys' basketball community yet," he said earlier this month at the team's banquet. "I think the girls' team is starting to get some more recognition."
A 14-10 campaign with an uptempo run-and-gun style certainly helped, as the Hodags recorded a runner-up finish in the Great Northern Conference.
"I think the varsity team this year was very entertaining to watch," Clark said.
Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.
Pick up the pace
By the middle of the 2016-17 season, Clark said he knew exactly how he wanted this year's team to play. So, when a pertussis outbreak forced the team to miss 17 days of practice last season around Christmas break, Clark set his plans into motion.
"I just made the decision then because I was looking forward to (this) year of pressing and running more of an uptempo style that more fit our personnel," he said. "I think the varsity team was a lot of fun to watch this year."
The end result was a team that was second in the Great Northern Conference in points, assists and steals. The Hodags trailed only Lakeland, which employs a similar style, in all three categories.
Dynamic duo
Much of that punch was delivered by a dynamic backcourt tandem of senior Ally Seefeldt and sophomore Kenedy Van Zile.
Van Zile finished second in the conference with 20.5 points per game while Seefeldt was fourth in the GNC at 19.0 points per game. Both were unanimous first-team all-GNC selections.
"I've never had two players get first-team all conference in the same year but there was no question, our two guards were pretty talented," Clark said.
Aside from their scoring, Van Zile was also third in the conference in rebounding and second in steals. Van Zile and Seefeldt tied for sixth in the conference with 17 made 3-pointers. Seefeldt was fourth in the conference in steals, tied with the third member of the Hodags' starting backcourt, senior Alayna Franson.
Youth exudes
The Hodags had a senior class of seven - four of whom logged significant minutes in the rotation - but a number of underclassmen helped complement those senior leaders.
Aside from Kenedy Van Zile, a pair of freshmen - Rebecca Lawrence and Marissa Martin - contributed off the bench during the second half of the season. Martin even got a couple of spot starts after junior Brooke Mork was lost for the season Jan. 24 with a back injury.
"Rebecca and Melissa are great-looking athletes," Clark said following a win Feb. 2 against Northland Pines. "They're quick and their fast. But Brooke Mork is out and so Brooke was a double-digit scorer for us, but she was also the front of our diamond press. We've tried a couple of different lineups, but the closest resemblance to Brooke is Marissa and Rebecca."
By the numbers
The Hodags had a number of accomplishments of which to be proud of this season:
• At 14-10, the Hodags posted their most wins since the 2002-03 season.
• A 10-2 conference record was Rhinelander's best since joining the Great Northern Conference in 2010-11.
• The Hodags placed in the top three in every statistical category kept by a Great Northern Conference this season - the only GNC team to place in the top three in every category.
What's next
The Hodags will miss Seefeldt and Franson, along with front liners Maddie Meyer and Molly Wagler, in 2018-19, but hope that a young squad led by Kenedy Van Zile, a healthy Brooke Mork and a number of underclassmen will be able to continue the Hodags' recent winning ways.
"We've got a good freshman class coming in," Clark said following a WIAA tournament loss at Merrill. "We've got a good freshman class currently that's going to be sophomores, and we've got a good JV. We'll be pretty young next year but we've got a lot of talent. I think we'll be just as competitive next year as we were this year."
However, replicating the win total from this season may be a challenge as Clark said at the banquet the team will likely be adding D.C. Everest and Eau Claire Regis to its non-conference schedule that this year included most of the Wisconsin Valley Conference and Division 4 state qualifier Crandon.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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