December 6, 2021 at 9:16 a.m.
Lady Hodags roll past Merrill 68-27
Lady Hodags roll past Merrill 68-27
Annika Johnson had a career-high 18 points and the Hodags cruised past Merrill 68-27 in a non-conference contest Friday at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Johnson paced three Hodags in double digits as Rhinelander led 34-15 at the break and then put the game away with a 20-1 run to start the second half.
"The second half we finished all but one layup," coach Ryan Clark said. "We finished inside. We have those spurts where we don't finish very well and are a little bit off balance, but I think, today, we got better at really pushing the tempo. When we get a steal, kids are running the lanes a little better, seeing the court a little bit better. We had some nice passes for finishes."
Audrey Schiek continued her hot start for Rhinelander with 17 points. Brynn Brzycki added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Rhinelander flummoxed Merrill with its 1-3-1 defense forcing 40 turnovers and scoring 19 points in transition. Ava Lamers scored six of her eight points in the decisive run to start the second half. Schiek, Brzycki and Johnson also contributed as the Hodags' lead ballooned to 54-16 with 12:45 remaining. Rhinelander led by as many as 47 points before turning the game over to the reserves.
Clark said the key was converting better on the offensive end of the floor. Rhinelander was 38% from the field in the first half, but picked that up to 56% in the second.
"The difference in this one was we were up 34-15 at half and had missed 13 layups. I told the girls at halftime I feel that we should be up 46 or 50 to 15, not 34. We didn't finish very well," he said. "We went out in the second half with a quick 20 points in five minutes and kind of controlled it."
Johnson did the best of finishing in the first half for Rhinelander. She had 12 points over the first 8:55 of the contest as Rhinelander opened up a 22-7 lead.
"I'm proud of Annika because she was very confident to shoot the ball," Clark said. "She got those three 3s. She got to the basket, finished. It's just good to see her scoring as well."
After scoring only 30 points in a season-opening win against Crandon, Rhinelander has averaged 61 points per game over its last four contests and has had three players in double digits in all four of those games.
"It doesn't really matter who scores the most, I just want everyone to be a scoring threat," Clark said. "If all five of our starters are looking to score, then I think we're a tough team. We all got in the scoring column and I think that makes us more dangerous."
Mia Ott was the only Bluejay in double digits. She scored 12 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Merrill was held to just 18% shooting (8 of 45) on the evening.
The result is a 4-1 start for a Hodag team that had a number of question marks going into the season but has quickly found some answers - especially on the defensive end of the floor.
"Our 1-3-1 just gives us a whole different identity that the kids have really bought into and are having fun playing in it. I'm not super shocked with 4-1," Clark said. "We're so much better, individually, than we were last year and the scoring numbers are so much more (balanced)."
The Hodags don't return to action until Friday night when the travel to Northland Pines for a conference contest. Rhinelander then heads to Shawano for a non-conference game Saturday night. Clark said this is a key week for his team with a tough stretch of games looming to close out the calendar year and open 2022.
"I think we've got to take another step up in our strength and conditioning so we can go hard Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Then I think we'll make a little jump," he said. "We've got to win next week, both games and then I think we've got a tough stretch where we go Everest on the road, then home against Mosinee. Then we'll find out if we're for real or not, playing those two teams. Then you've got Christmas break and then Lakeland. We've got a pretty tough stretch."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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