November 28, 2021 at 12:04 p.m.
RHS girls split games at TK Memorial tourney
RHS girls split games at TK Memorial tourney
It was a tale of two different games for the Hodags. Rhinelander led from start to finish against the Orioles on Friday but then had its hands full Saturday against Hudson, last year's WIAA Division 1 state runner-up. The Raiders used an 18-5 run midway through the first half to take the lead for good and never looked back.
"I think it was good for us to play a team like Hudson to kind of expose us early in the year, see what we have to work on," Rhinelander coach Ryan Clark said.
There were some similarities in both games, mainly an improved offensive effort by Rhinelander in both contests.
Senior Audrey Schiek followed up a career-high 19-point game on Friday with 16 points on Saturday. Ava Lamers and Brynn Brzycki also finished in double digits in both contest.
"If we can get all five kids into double figures, then I think we're a pretty potent team and will at least give ourselves a chance to win against some quality opponents," Clark said.
Hodags 61, Stanley-Boyd 46
The Hodag defense carried the way in the first half on Friday, giving Rhinelander a working lead it carried through to the second half.
Rhinelander held Stanley-Boyd to 3-15 shooting and forced 15 turnovers in the first half as it took a 26-11 lead into the break. Both teams picked up the offense in the second, but the Orioles never got back within single digits and Rhinelander used a key 14-3 run midway through the final half to put the game out of reach.
"They came out and played well to get us in a good groove early right away. We settled into our 1-3-1, caused a lot of turnovers to start," Clark said. "As we keep playing here some teams are going to start beating us at it and we're going to have to make some adjustments, but so far they're pretty dialed in."
Schiek, who averaged just 1.4 points per game for Rhinelander last year, had 10 points at the break on Friday. She then had six more in an 12-8 push to start the second half that put Rhinelander up 18. After Stanley-Boyd made a run to get within 12, Schiek hit a 3 with 9:08 to play that stretched the lead to 45-28.
"Audrey, she was OK looking a little bit awkward, a little uncomfortable. She had 19 (against Stanley-Boyd), 16 (against Hudson)," Clark said. "I just think now she expects to score and I think she can. I give her a lot of credit. She got out of her comfort zone and is playing even better than I thought she would play."
Lamers had 12 points for Rhinelander and Brzycki chipped in 11. As a team, the Hodags shot 43% (24-56) from the field, a far cry from their 19-percent effort in a season opening 30-26 win against Crandon.
"It's nice to put some points on the board and have more than just defensive effort," Clark said.
Kayte Licht had 13 points and Lily Hoel added 11 for Stanley-Boyd in the loss.
Hudson 73, Hodags 48
The Hodags hung with the Raiders early on Saturday, but in the end Hudson's athleticism and ball pressure were too much for Rhinelander to overcome.
Grace Lewis scored a game-high 20-points, including back-to-back and-1s that gave Hudson the lead for good at 15-14 with 12:08 to play in the first. The Raiders stretched the lead to as many as 14 in the first half and took a 41-30 lead at the break.
The closest Rhinelander got in the second half was down 13. Hudson put it away with a 16-4 run from the 11:48 mark of the second to the 4:44 mark.
"Hudson picked us a part too many times in our 1-3-1. We forced 22 turnovers but didn't do enough," Clark said. "The difference in game was their defensive pressure in the half court caused us to turn it over, then they scored in transition. They run the floor well and finish in transition."
Hudson forced 24 Rhinelander turnovers, scored 22 points in transition and held a 26-13 edge in points off turnovers.
Lamers added 13 points and Brzycki had 12 to go a long with Schiek's 16 as Rhinelander shot 29% (14-49) from the field. Sophia Jonas had 12 points and Ella Carstensen added 11 for Hudson, which finished the night 30-57 from the field (53%).
Clark called the tough non-conference test a learning experience, especially for the team's newly instituted 1-3-1 defense, as the Hodags get set to enter GNC play.
"They could pick apart our 1-3-1 a little bit when some of our angles weren't very good or our slides weren't very good," he said. "We can get some good work on tape and learn from that. Then their defensive pressure, they put a lot of ball pressure and we're not a strong ball-handling team. But we've got to find a way to initiate the offense a little more smoothly and counter some of that pressure."
Rhinelander (2-1, 0-0 Great Northern) opens conference play tonight at Tomahawk.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.