November 26, 2018 at 11:50 a.m.
Lady Hodags split games in Antigo
Lady Hodags split games in Antigo
It was definitely a tale of two games for Rhinelander, who split its games in the Tom Kislow Memorial at Sheldon Fieldhouse in Antigo in blowout fashion. The Hodags defeated Wausau East 81-49 on Friday and then lost to Eau Claire Memorial 59-30 Saturday.
The Hodags could do very little wrong against the Lumberjacks, shooting 53 percent and consistently beating Wausau East in transition. Eau Claire Regis put the breaks on Rhinelander's run-and-gun style Saturday, wore the Hodags down in the half court and held Rhinelander to 16 percent from the field.
Of course, something could be said for the level of opponent, too. Wausau East perennially finishes toward the back of the Wisconsin Valley Conference while Regis is picked to win the Cloverbelt West.
"We lost to a really good team and took it on the chin, but we've just got to come out and get a little bit better," Hodag coach Ryan Clark said after Saturday's loss to Regis.
The Hodags find themselves 2-2 on the season ahead of Friday's Great Northern Conference and home opener against Mosinee.
"In eight days from (a season-opening loss) Merrill to now I think we've grown a lot as a team," Clark said. "We've come a long way. Merrill, we couldn't stop anybody in the press. We're doing a better job rotating in the press and not getting dribbled through. Cynthia (Beavers) and Brooke (Mork), I think they've established themselves in our lineup and I think there are a lot of kids who can improve. I think our ceiling is high."
Rhinelander 81, Wausau East 49
The Hodags' press and transition game were too much for Wausau East to handle Friday.
Rhinelander used an 18-2 run in the middle of the first half to open a 21-point lead and cruised to victory in the opening game of the tournament.
Rhinelander forced 34 Wausau East turnovers and beat East down the floor regardless of how the Jacks ended a possession - be it a turnover, a made basket or a missed basket.
"We got a lot of easy baskets in transition just beating them down the court," Clark said. "We have more depth. They have only seven players that play and we have 10-11. We wanted to play fast, get the ball up and down, get the pace to our liking. They didn't have a real confident ball handler, so they kind of had to do it by committee. Right away, we started to get some easy baskets, some steals and just got down the floor, beating them down the court."
The Hodags led 44-19 at halftime and slowly extended that lead in the second half, pushing the advantage to as many as 36 points at one juncture.
Just like in its win over Marshfield, the Hodags spread the wealth with 10 different players scoring. Kenedy Van Zile led the way with 25 points, Brooke Mork had 18, Rebecca Lawrence had nine and Marissa Martin chipped in eight.
Eau Claire Regis 59, Rhinelander 30
Saturday's game was a complete 180 for the Hodags. The Ramblers used a pair of first- half runs to build a lead and a basket that looked like a swimming pool for Rhinelander on Friday turned into a thimble.
Van Zile led the team with 12 points, but didn't make a shot from the field until a transition layup with 9:14 remaining in the second half. She wound up with three baskets in the second half - the only shots Rhinelander made from the floor over the final 18 minutes.
The Hodags finished the game 8 of 50 from the field.
"Offensively, I think we were a little timid," Clark said. "We got in there and had our shot blocked a few times, couldn't get over the top of their hands. Then we settled for a lot of 3s. Then we missed a lot of shots as well ... We're not a real good shooting team yet, but that's a skill we'll put in the time and get better at."
Overall, Regis' height and athleticism seemed to bother the Hodags. Post player Teryn Karlstad had a big game with 19 points and 14 rebounds. When the Rhinelander collapsed on her in the post, the Ramblers kicked it outside to Marne Milanowski, who also had 19 points and was 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.
"I think the difference, right off the bat, was their physicality," Clark said. "We tried to front them, but they do a good job of sealing. We knew their tempo was going to be to slow it down a little bit, grind you and get it to the bigs inside, and when you dive in to take the bigs, they hit the 3."
Regis started the game on a 13-2 run and, after the Hodags cut the deficit to seven, went on another 14-5 spurt that helped the Ramblers take a 34-20 lead at the break.
The flow of the game also seemed to benefit Regis' plodding style. A total of 46 fouls were called in a tightly-officiated contest and the teams combined to commit 56 turnovers.
Cynthia Beavers finished a point and a rebound shy of a double-double, with nine each, in a losing effort for Rhinelander.
"I think she's only going to get better and better," Clark said of the junior who recently transferred into the district from neighboring Three Lakes. "She's been with us only 11 days and she's already not only contributing on the court but as a teammate. She's getting accustomed to her teammates. I think she rebounds as well as anybody we have. She goes up with two hands and is really strong."
Up next
The Hodags host Mosinee Friday night at the Miazga Gym. Clark called the Indians a young and vastly improved team from the side Rhinelander swept last season.
"They have a lot of players. They're competing for positions," he said. "I think they'll do a bit of a 1-3-1 trap at half court. They have some speed this year and they always play us tough. It's the home opener, parents night and I think our kids will be ready. It should be a nice battle."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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