December 16, 2021 at 10:28 a.m.
Hodag offense erupts in win at Everest
Hodag offense erupts in win at Everest
Ava Lamers led four Hodags in double digits with 20 points and Rhinelander held off D.C. Everest down the stretch in a 73-63 win on the road.
Audrey Schiek added 18 points, Brynn Brzycki had 13 and Annika Johnson scored 12 for the Hodags, who led by double digits most of the second half. But Everest hung around thanks to a game-high 26 points by Kiara Hammond, closing to within eight before Lamers made a series of free throws late to seal it.
"I thought this was a toss-up game. I thought it could go either way, on the road," Rhinelander coach Ryan Clark said. "It's a good win for us. I thought this was a good battle. I didn't think we'd score 73 and didn't think we'd give up 63. I'm really proud of the girls. This is one of those where I think you build some confidence from it."
Coming off a 21% shooting performance in a 49-41 win at Shawano on Saturday, the Hodags were a more efficient 41% on Tuesday night, including four 3-pointers by Lamers, who scored a season-high. Lamers scored 13 of the Hodags' first 15 points, including three 3s as the Rhinelander kept pace with Everest early.
"Ava came out hitting shots right off the bat," Clark said. "She puts in so much time and she really wants to be a scorer. She really works hard and just gets after it. I was happy for her to have that success."
Rhinelander used a 13-2 run to break an 19-all tie late in the first half and took a 36-28 lead into the break. Everest cut the lead down to four early in the second, but the Hodags responded with a 16-4 push that stretched the lead to 54-38 with 11:13 to play. Schiek started the run with a 3, followed by a Megan Brown layup in transition off a steal. Brzycki ended the run with a pair of baskets in the post.
Tuesday's game marked Rhinelander's highest scoring output of the season and the second time the Hodags have had four players score at least 10 points in a single game. The other instance came Nov. 30 in a 66-11 win at Tomahawk.
"We had four kids in double figures. I give them credit. It's not always pretty, but they're finding ways to score that I didn't think they ever could do," Clark said. "It's nice to see last year they would all be tentative to score. Now they're all looking to score."
Hammond scored 15 points in a 21-13 run that got Everest within eight points at 69-61 with 1:44 remaining, but Lamers hit four of her final six free throws and Everest had two key traveling violations late that thwarted their comeback bid.
Hammond finished the night 12 of 25 from the floor, but was 7 of 8 in the stretch that got the Evergreens back within single digits.
"She was tough getting to the rim. She was attacking, getting behind the defense and she finishes really well," Clark said. "We can't let one kid get in the 20s against us. She kept them in the game. We've got to do a better job of identifying that we're getting beat by one person."
Kennedy Stowell added a double-double for Everest with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ella Pavlovich had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Evergreens, who shot 45% (27 of 60) and outrebounded Rhinelander by a 44-30 margin.
"Everest just pounded the glass," Clark said. "That's one thing with the 1-3-1, everyone's got to fly to the boards and we were sending two kids to the boards and they had like nine offensive rebounds in the first half. Their best offense was to just shoot the ball, go get a rebound and score."
Rhinelander forced 32 turnovers in the win, though Everest was able to find vulnerabilities in the Hodags' 1-3-1 trap, which led to easy baskets. For the second straight game, Rhinelander had a large disparity in its favor at the free throw line. The Hodags were 14 of 27 from the stripe, compared to 7 of 9 for the Evergreens.
"The first half we didn't get in foul trouble for the first time all year. We got them in the bonus both halves, which I think's important. We were getting a lot of free throw attempts," Clark said.
Rhinelander (6-1, 1-0 Great Northern) won its fourth straight on Tuesday night and now gets set for one of its toughest tests to date as it welcomes defending conference champion Mosinee (8-0, 3-0 Great Northern) to the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium this evening.
"Mosinee's probably one of our toughest matchups for us because they're very athletic, very fast," Clark said. "They play really hard and aggressive and we struggle creating separation with that speed. We'll try to simulate it the best we can at practice. If we can handle pressure, I think we can be competitive and maybe try to get a win. If we can't handle pressure and they can turn it into some live-ball turnovers, I just thing they'll beat us by a margin.
"But, we're 6-1 and Friday night at home against Mosinee. We're a pretty experience group, so I hope our girls come out there and we give a big fight."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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