January 11, 2021 at 8:47 a.m.
Lady Hodags inch away from Antigo 56-41
Lady Hodags inch away from Antigo 56-41
Rebecca Lawrence hit four triples as she scored a game-high 28 points, and the Hodags hit eight 3s overall in a 56-41 victory over Antigo at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander's first four makes of the second half were all from beyond the arc, part of a 15-4 run that gave the Hodags (7-8, 3-3 Great Northern) a 19-point lead. The advantage climbed to as many as 22 points before the Robins made a late push, cutting the lead to 13 on two separate occasions.
"Timely 3s," Rhinelander coach Ryan Clark said. "We didn't shoot a very high percentage, but every time they made a little run (we had an answer)."
Without its two tallest players, Audrey Schiek (ankle) and Brynn Brzycki (health concerns), the Hodags were outrebounded 52-25 in the contest, but Rhinelander forced 42 Antigo turnovers and held the Robins to 27% from the field.
"That's the key, if we can turn them over. A lot of them were dead ball turnovers, but we did get some live ball turnovers," Clark said. "We have to continue to work on scoring off of those but I'm proud of our kids. I think we've found our identity. We're going to turn you over in the press. I think we fight hard on defense and the girls are willing to take the open shot. We just have to work on hitting in more consistently."
Sophomore Sophie Schlieve had a big night off the bench for Antigo with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She did most of her work in the second half. Schlieve and fellow forward Greta Parsons were responsible for the team's final 16 points over the final six minutes of the contest as Antigo closed to with 50-37 and 54-31 in the waning stages.
"It was just a battle. They kept hanging around. We couldn't put them away," Clark said. "No. 40 (Schlieve) for them I thought was a difference maker. She was so physical, crashed the offensive glass really hard, finished at the rim, hit her free throws."
Lawrence, despite drawing the attention from opposing defenses, continues to score for the Hodags. She had 13 at the break for Rhinelander as the Hodags took a 25-17 lead at halftime. Lawrence hit four consecutive shots at one point in the second half, capped by a steal, layup and made free throw that gave Rhinelander a 47-25 lead with 6:29 to play. She's averaging 22.7 points per game in her senior season and is quickly closing in on 1,000 points for her high school career, currently sitting at 916 with eight games remaining in the regular season.
"They tried to box-and-1 Rebecca in the second half. We tried to work on screening off of that. We'll have to watch the film and get better because I assume we're going to get that more as we go forward," Clark said.
Lawrence also had eight steals for Rhinelander in the contest. Ava Lamers added 10 points for the Hodags, including a couple of early second half 3s that sparked the Hodags' run. Annika Johnson chipped in seven as Rhinelander shot 32% (16 of 50) from the field.
Parsons added seven points and eight rebounds for Antigo (1-4, 1-4 Great Northern).
The Hodags had a chance to get back to .500 overall Monday night in a game at Tomahawk that concluded after deadline. It kicked off a busy week for the Hodags, who host Medford tonight and then travel to Crandon on Thursday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.