January 2, 2019 at 12:05 p.m.
Lady Hodags run out of gas vs. Superior
Lady Hodags run out of gas vs. Superior
Niya Wilson scored 19 points, including nine in a decisive 11-3 run, as the Spartans rallied past the Hodags 53-48 in the consolation game of the Rhinelander holiday tournament at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Even a grinding half court game was not enough to conserve the Hodags' energy in a game that tipped off less than 16 hours after Rhinelander's 72-61 loss to Madison LaFollette. The Hodags shot only 27 percent from the field and missed several key free throws down the stretch as the Spartans inched away.
"I'm not going to lie, that probably had a lot of do with it," Rhinelander coach Ryan Clark said, referring to fatigue after playing back-to-back games. "We expended a lot of energy to play with LaFollette's athleticism and speed. To play them last night and to play this game in the morning, obviously we're going to be fatigued and just tired. But I thought we'd have better execution and mental energy. When we're tired, we become a quiet team. We didn't have a lot of energy from the bench or on the court. No excuse, of course you're going to be a little tired, but we've got to do a better job as coaches and players of just having better mental energy."
Rhinelander led 40-37 with less than six minutes to go when Wilson took over. She hit a long 2 to cut the lead to one with 5:36 left. Then, following a Kenedy Van Zile basket, Wilson scored an old-fashioned three-point play to tie it at 42 with 4:29 left.
Wilson's baseline drive for a bucket with 3:42 left gave Superior the lead for good. She then found Kailiegh Miller underneath for an open layup to stretch the lead to 46-42 with 2:19 to play. Wilson scored 14 of Superior's final 18 points in the contest.
"The second half, we never gravitated toward taking control of the game," Clark said. "Superior, even though they were in foul trouble and multiple players were out with fouls, they just kind of hung around and then made a little spurt."
Rhinelander's leading scorer, Van Zile, was unable to find an answer. Though she finished with a game-high 26 points, she struggled down the stretch - especially from the foul line. She was 3 of 6 from the line in a stretch from 2:01 remaining to 1:11, which left Rhinelander trailing 48-45. Still down three with 16.8 seconds left, Van Zile missed two free throws, Superior grabbed the rebound and Julie Haller sealed the game with two made free throws on the other end with 8.4 seconds remaining.
"She plays the entire game. She plays hard. We ask a lot our of her but I think, for her, the biggest step she needs to make is just consistently making her shots," Clark said of Van Zile. "She should be better than a 65 percent foul shooter. She just needs to take a step up in terms of shooting percentage."
Van Zile had 18 of Rhinelander's 24 points as the Hodags led by five at the break. Superior made a concerted effort to stop the 5-6 junior guard in the second half and it seemed to work as she finished the game only 7 of 21 from the field.
The Hodags stayed afloat in the second half thanks to Cynthia Beavers, who scored 10 of her 14 points after the break. After Superior rallied to tie the game at 37, Beavers scored on a baseline drive and then made a free throw on a subsequent possession to give Rhinelander what proved to be its final lead of the game.
"Cynthia made a nice jump and now she's got to continue that," Clark said. "She rebounds strong. She went coast-to-coast a couple of times. She plays the break, plays post defense for us pretty well and can finish. She had a nice tournament for us. I think she can be a consistent double-digit scorer for us and she needs to be if we're going to keep playing well in the conference."
Superior, like other teams, found success wearing down the Hodags in a half-court game. The Spartans controlled the boards in the contest, outrebounding the Hodags 50-37 - including a 20-13 edge on the offensive glass.
"There were so many times today we looked flat-footed, didn't put a body on anybody or, if it's a loose ball, we're just kind of waiting for it. Superior, they were just a little more aggressive. They won the 50-50 battles.
Chloe Kintop added 11 points for Superior, while Miller chipped in nine points and 13 rebounds. Van Zile and Beavers accounted for 40 of Rhinelander's 48 points in the contest.
The loss dropped the Hodags to 5-5 overall on the season, but the team is still 3-0 in Great Northern Conference play as it enters the heart of the conference schedule.
"December's over with, (we have) 12 games to go. We've got a lot of conference games upcoming," Clark said. "I told the girls we can't get too high or too low. This one's a tough one to swallow just because we didn't play well and still should have won, but we've just got to get better and keep going." The Hodags resume GNC play this evening at Tomahawk.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.