February 15, 2023 at 12:52 p.m.
SPASH storms Lady Hodags early, wins 79-55
SPASH storms Lady Hodags early, wins 79-55
The Panthers shot just under 50% (32 of 65) on the night, but came out blazing. SPASH hit its first six shots from the field and was 12 of 18 - including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc - in an opening 30-7 run over the first nine minutes.
Stevens Point (16-7, 9-1 Wis. Valley) finished the first half on a 16-2 run to lead 48-17 at the break and was never threatened in the second.
"Unfortunately, the game was over in the first half," Hodag coach Ryan Clark said. "I don't know if we could have beat that team, but we definitely could have been more competitive."
Emma Jossie led three Panthers in double figures with 19 points. Lindsey Weiler scored 18 off the bench and Adaleah Nest - who came in shooting 23% from 3-point range for the season - went 5 of 6 from distance and finished with 17 points.
"They have three strengths - they can drive the basket, they can shoot it and they can post us up," Clark said. "I said let's just try to take away the inside game, let's try to take away that one strength, and I thought we did a terrible job of it in the first half. We let them do whatever they want."
The Hodags (9-14, 6-5 Great Northern) were only 6 of 31 from the field in the first half, but began to find a rhythm offensively in the second. Junior Lily Treder scored 21 of her game- and career-high 26 points after the break and finished the night 6 of 14 from 3-point range.
"Lily has the ability to score. She can definitely shoot the 3, but she can also get to the basket. She had a couple of nice finishes on the drive. She can also pull up. She's a three-level scorer," Clark said. "I think when she plays harder defensively and competes a little bit harder, her offensive game then flows a little bit. When your whole game is based on the outcome of a missed or made shot, it's kind of a hard way to play basketball. I thought she did a really good job of defending and that carried over to the offensive end."
Ava Lamers added 19 points for Rhinelander as the Hodags finished the night just under 37% from the field (21 of 57).
The Hodags will close out the regular season at home against Antigo tonight, kicking off a girls-boys doubleheader against the Robins at the Miazga Gym. The Hodags could tie Antigo for third in the GNC with a win. Rhinelander led by double-digits in the second half at Antigo Jan. 10, only to fall 52-49.
"It's senior night, we'll have a great crowd. We've got Little Hodags, Little Dribblers all coming. We'll recognize Ava (as our lone senior) and the doubleheader. It will be fun," Clark said. "It's always fun to go against Antigo. I think Antigo's had a great season. Carla (Wissbroecker) could be up for coach of the year. She's done a great job with Antigo this year, being very strong and steady. This will be a good test for us."
Playoff 8-seed
Clark figured Rhinelander would have the No. 7 seed for the upcoming WIAA tournament, based on who his team did and did not beat over the regular season. The WIAA's computers saw it differently, giving the Hodags the eighth seed for the playoffs, which begin this coming Tuesday night.
Ashland (9-14, 5-5 Heart O' North) ended up seeded ahead of Rhinelander, despite losing to the Hodags 70-58 back on Nov. 22.
Rhinelander will face Medford for the third time this season to open the WIAA tournament. Clark said, despite the apparent slight, he did not mind getting the 8-seed and ending up on the opposite half of the draw as GNC-champion Lakeland, which got the No. 2 seed. Rhinelander would travel to top-seeded New London a week from tonight should it win its playoff opener.
"We had the same record and we beat them head-to-head and somehow they jump ahead of us. But, when I saw that, I thought it's good for us, mentally, to get away from Lakeland anyway," he said. "It worked out OK. It gives us something different. The kids can go in there mentally fresh if we do get to New London, a team we haven't played. That's a very good basketball team too, but it's nice to have different things to look forward to."
Rhinelander swept the regular season series against Medford, defeating the Raiders 61-54 and 63-52.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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