February 20, 2023 at 9:36 a.m.
Lady Hodags prevail over Robins in OT
RHS opens playoffs tonight vs. Medford
Lady Hodags prevail over Robins in OT
The Hodags had four players in double digits and an Ava Lamers 3 midway through overtime proved to be just enough margin for Rhinelander to earn a 50-47 victory at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Leah Jamison was one of three Hodags with 12 points in the contest and hit a go-ahead 3 for Rhinelander with 1:19 remaining in regulation. Sophie Schlieve had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Robins, including the game-tying bucket in the lane with 55 seconds left.
"Every time we play Antigo, it's always kind of a battle, very physical," Hodag coach Ryan Clark said. "They do a good job playing to their strengths and we weren't able to speed them up. It was kind of a grind, but I thought we battled really hard."
The 5-11 Schlieve controlled the game inside, especially once Rhinelander found itself in foul trouble. Jamison hit a 3 to tie the game at 35 with 5:37 to play, but Schlieve scored six in a row in the post for the Robins, to put Antigo up 41-35 with 3:52 remaining.
"Schlieve killed us," Clark said. "We had Lily (Treder) with four fouls with like 10 to go. Ava had three in the fist half, so she sat the last 3 1/2 minutes. We killed some clock and then Tori (Riopel) did a real good job on Schlieve. She tried to hold her in check. We had to put her on (Schlieve) when Lily had four and she did just enough to front and battle an keep us alive."
Morgan Van Zile, along with Jamison and Treder, had 12 points for the Hodags, hit two free throws with 3:37 left to spark Rhinelander's rally. Jamison hit a 3 from the right wing to pull Rhinelander within one with 3:08 left and Treder made a six-foot runner in the lane to put Rhinelander up 42-41 with 2:13 remaining. Kailee Krueger answered with a runner of Antigo to put the Robins back up one with 1:32 left.
Lamers, who was held to 11 points, missed a potential game-winning attempt with three seconds left in regulation, but buried a 3 to give Rhinelander a 48-45 lead with 1:20 left in the extra session. Tristin Arlen answered with a runner for Antigo, but Van Zile made two free throws with 24.1 seconds left and Antigo was not able to get a good look to tie down the stretch.
"It was a team effort tonight. They guarded Ava really hard. They face-guarded her and then had a second defender around her," Clark said. "We were a little cold in the first half. We had some open 3s, but Leah hit a couple of big 3s in the second half toward the end and then Ava hit a huge one."
The Hodags (10-14, 7-5 Great Northern) finished tied for third with Antigo (12-11, 7-5) in the conference thanks to the win.
Rhinelander will open the WIAA tournament at home against Medford tonight at the Miazga Gym. Though the Hodags beat the Raiders twice during the regular season, Clark said Medford will present similar matchup problems with Antigo with their height.
"Playoffs will be the same thing. You've got two equal teams and loser goes home. I expect a tough battle on Tuesday," he said.
Rhinelander swept the regular season series against Medford, defeating the Raiders 61-54 and 63-52.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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