December 13, 2021 at 8:30 a.m.
Lady Hodags battle for defensive road win
Lady Hodags battle for defensive road win
That fact was evident again on Saturday night as the Hodags shot only 21% from the field, but forced 44 turnovers and got to the line 45 times as they held off Shawano 49-41 in a non-conference game at Shawano.
Rhinelander's offense sputtered most of the night, but a key 20-6 run over the final three minutes of the first half to the first three minutes of the second half put the Hodags up by 13. From there, the Rhinelander cranked up the defensive intensity after the Hawks got back to within a possession with five minutes remaining.
"It is nice to know that we can rely on our defense," Clark said. "We're probably going to win a lot of games where we don't shoot very well, but that's just who we are. We'll take it every time.
"I thought we played really, really hard. Defensively, we forced over 40 turnovers. Hopefully you never lost a game if you force 40 turnovers. I thought we did a good job defensively. We caused a lot of havoc with our 1-3-1."
The Hodags went the final 5 minutes, 20 seconds without a field goal, and a basket by Brooke Theis cut the lead to 42-39 at the 5-minute mark, but Rhinelander made eight free throws down the stretch and held the Hawks without a basket the rest of the game.
Ava Lamers, who struggled to a 4-of-12 night from the line, made two free throws when they mattered most. She knocked down a pair of tosses with 1:31 left to extend the lead to nine points. Shawano never threatened after that.
Though Rhinelander was just 11 of 53 from the field, it attacked the rim and got to the line often, especially in the second half. The Hodags were 21 of 33 from the line in the second half - including 8 of 12 from senior Audrey Schiek, who led all scorers with 14 points.
"We got to the line a couple of times and got them into the double bonus early in the second half," Clark said. "We didn't shoot necessarily a great percentage from the free throw line, but that's disheartening for a team. If we're already in the double bonus with eight minutes to go and every time they foul you, it's two free throws. I thought we did a pretty good job there."
Schiek, who recorded her fifth straight game in double digits, came alive during Rhinelander's key run between the halves. After not attempting a shot most of the first half, she made a transition layup with 2:58 remaining before the break that put Rhinelander up 11-10 and started the key push. She added a couple of free throws a minute later as the Hodags took a 15-12 lead into the half and then scored six of Rhinelander's first 14 points in the second as the lead stretched to 29-16.
The Hawks chipped away, despite trailing by 38-28 with 7:36 to play. They went on a 11-4 run from there to cut the lead to three.
While Rhinelander struggled from the field, it did have balance in the scorebook. Brynn Brzycki had nine points and 11 rebounds, Lamers added eight points while Annika Johnson and Megan Brown each had seven.
"Obviously, I'd like us to finish a little bit better, but I think we know who we are and all five starters contributed," Clark said.
The Hodags offensive woes came both inside and out. Rhinelander was just 1 of 17 from 3-point range, but also missed a number of shots right underneath the hoop.
"We have to keep working on finishing," Clark said. "I told the girls a lot of our missed layups I think we get too close to the basket, (shoot) a little bit off balance. I thought No. 40 (Theis) for them gave us a little trouble inside finishing as well."
Brianna Wright had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Shawano before fouling out in the final minute. Ella Stuber added 12 points while Theis chipped in 7 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks finished 31% from the field on 15 of 49 shooting.
The Hodags had a Great Northern Conference contest at Northland Pines snowed out on Friday night. The game has been rescheduled for an 8 p.m. tipoff Monday, Dec. 20. Rhinelander (5-1, 1-0 Great Northern) will travel to D.C. Everest tonight for a non-conference contest before hosting defending GNC champion Mosinee this coming Friday at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
"The battles are going to start coming now. We have a lot of really good opponents coming up," Clark said. "I don't want to say the record's deceiving, but we will be battle-tested now. We've got 18 more games, at least 15 of them are going to be a really tough battle. It starts with D.C. Everest on Tuesday, a great non-conference game. They're strong. They're well-coached. They're aggressive. It's on the road. It will be a great tune-up for Mosinee."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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