December 18, 2019 at 2:29 p.m.
Lady Hodags use big runs to knock off Medford 67-46
Lady Hodags use big runs to knock off Medford 67-46
Rhinelander used big runs in each half to pull away and defeat the Raiders 67-46 in a battle of conference unbeatens.
"You've got to win games like this to starting building some confidence that you have the toughness to go on the road and beat a quality opponent," Rhinelander coach Ryan Clark said. "I thought they came in very confident today. Today we looked a little tougher mentally and we just kind of controlled the game."
Rhinelander used a 16-5 run to close out the first half to take a 36-23 lead into halftime. Medford closed to within six in the second half before Rhinelander made another push to put the Raiders away.
"That was probably the difference. We had a lead, they kind of fought back and then I thought we closed the door right there," Clark said, referencing his team's answer following an 11-3 run that brought the Raiders to within 20-18 with 5:30 left in the first. "We had them in the bonus as well. We just started getting some easier baskets, some steals and transition baskets. That was probably the difference in the game because that gave us a little cushion."
As it has been in the majority of Rhinelander's games over the last couple of seasons, the key is dictating tempo, Clark noted.
Medford tried to slow things down in a half court game, especially early on, but Rhinelander was able to use a myriad of presses to create turnovers and transition opportunities.
"We were able to mix up our presses a lot," Clark said. "We went from a 1-2-2 to a 2-1-2 to a diamond and a man. We played those four (presses), we rotated through them quite a bit. I thought just the different looks got Medford a bit confused."
Rhinelander had a balanced night from its big three, led by senior Cynthia Beavers who scored a game-high 20 points. Rebecca Lawrence added 19 points and Kenedy Van Zile had 15.
"Cynthia was all over the place," Clark noted. "She was 12 of 13 from the line, had numerous steals, assists, rebounds. She was our warrior today. She just played really gutty and hard.
"We didn't necessarily get a lot of 3s, I think we only made four 3s, but we shared the basketball well. I thought all of our bench played well. We rotated a little more frequently. We're still trying to get our rotations. Megan Brown and Ella and Audrey Schiek and Sophie (McGinnis) and Annika (Johnson) and Brynn (Brzycki), they did a nice job of just giving us good, quality minutes on the court."
Medford had three players in double digits, led by Brynn Rau with 13. Katie Brehm had 12 points and Marissa Fronk chipped in 11.
In back-to-back games Rhinelander has handed Mosinee and Medford (5-2, 2-1 Great Northern) their first conference losses.
Rhinelander (4-2, 3-0) now holds sole possession of first place in the conference, a half game ahead of Lakeland (7-1, 2-0), which destroyed Tomahawk 85-10 on Tuesday.
The Hodags and T-Birds will meet for the first time this season Jan. 3.
Rhinelander returns home Friday night to face non-conference foe Crandon, currently ranked No. 7 in the WisSports.net D4 coaches poll.
The Cardinals have defeated Rhinelander each of the last two seasons.
"They're a really good basketball team. If they were in our conference, they'd be fighting with us for the conference championship, no question," Clark said. "They'll be one of the top teams we'll play this year. It will be at our place right before Christmas. I'm expecting us to come out, give a good effort and see where we stack up."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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