February 11, 2021 at 7:57 a.m.
Lady Hodags' season ends in OT loss
Lady Hodags' season ends in OT loss
Brynn Brzycki hit two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime but, ultimately, attrition caught up to the Lady Hodags in a 59-55 overtime loss at Medford Tuesday evening in the WIAA regional quarterfinals.
The Hodags had to make their late run without leading scorer Rebecca Lawrence, who scored a game-high 22 points but fouled out with 4:11 to play in the second. Rhinelander finished regulation outscoring Medford 9-2 in Lawrence's absence to force bonus basketball.
"If you're going to lose, go out swinging and I thought they left everything on the court," Rhinelander coach Ryan Clark said.
Not only did Lawrence foul out for Rhinelander, so did Annika Johnson and Audrey Schiek. An already thin Hodag rotation was left with, essentially, five players by the end of overtime. Mabel Spencer from the team's JV squad was on standby to go in if anyone else fouled out of the contest.
The lack of bodies ultimately cost Rhinelander. Autumn Krause hit a 3 to start the extra session for Medford. The Raiders scored the first five points of OT and never looked back. The Hodags got to within 54-52 on an Andrey Schiek 3 with 1:22 left in the extra session, but Schiek fouled out moments later going for a steal at half court. Katie Brehm hit a pair of free throws on the other end and Rhinelander never got back to within a possession.
"Four-minute overtime, down to five kids, without Rebecca. It was probably just a little too much for us to overcome," Clark said. "If we still had her, I would have liked our chances a little bit more."
That Rhinelander even got to overtime with nothing short of spectacular, considering the Hodags trailed 43-29 with 8:33 remaining in the second. Medford made only one field goal the rest of regulation and the Hodags answered with a 18-4 run down the stretch. Lawrence scored the first eight points of the spurt for Rhinelander, then Ella Schiek scored off a steal to cut it to 45-38 with 4:37 left. But then, Lawrence picked up her fifth foul on contact outside the 3-point arc.
"Just a tough break on her part," Clark said. "She doesn't really get herself into foul trouble, but if she ever has a couple, she's smart with it. I feel for her to end her season, her career (like that).
"We just kind of said, 'Hey, let not make this be her last game. Let's just keep fighting.' We had the momentum and hit some big shots down the stretch."
With Lawrence out of the game, Ava Lamers made a layup and then hit a 3 to get Rhinelander within 45-43 with 2:12 to go. Ryan Ruesch hit two free throws with 1:16 remaining to put Medford back up four, but then Megan Brown stepped in, picked up a steal and got a layup with 58.0 seconds left to get Rhinelander within two.
Bryn Fronk missed two free throws, and a layup off an offensive rebound for Medford with 8.5 seconds left. Brzycki got the rebound, was fouled and hit both free throws on the other end to tie it.
"I was really proud of them," Clark said. "It was a great battle. Their ability to come back with Rebecca on the bench, then Annika on the bench said a lot about their fortitude and resolve. They just made some really big plays."
Marissa Fronk, who led Medford with 15 points, missed a runner as time expired to send the game to overtime. Brehm added 10 points off the bench for the Raiders, who move on to face No. 1 seed Mosinee tonight in the regional semifinals.
Lamers hit a 3 at the buzzer in overtime to account for the final margin. She finished the game with 10 points for the Hodags.
Rhinelander finishes the season with an 11-14 overall record.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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