February 23, 2023 at 7:43 a.m.
Lady Hodags roll Medford 61-36
Top-seeded New London ahead in regional semis
Lady Hodags roll Medford 61-36
The Hodags had a much easier time Tuesday in the third meeting.
Ava Lamers led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Hodags pulled away in the second half to a 61-36 win in the WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinals at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
The eighth-seeded Hodags (11-14) advanced to take on top-seeded New London on the road tonight after playing what coach Ryan Clark called one of the team's most complete performances of the season.
"I thought today was our best basketball game all season," he said. "It was just methodical. I didn't realize we were up by 30 until coach (Terry) Nordine made a comment. We were just hitting shots, playing really strong defense and rebounding."
The Hodags never trailed in the contest and used a 21-2 run midway through the second half to put the game out of reach.
Morgan Van Zile scored 11 points and sophomore Dawsyn Barkus added a career-high 11 off the bench as the Hodags finished the night 60% (24 of 40) from the field and were 7 of 16 from beyond the arc.
Rhinelander also held Medford forward Brooke Rudolph in check. Rudolph scored a combined 49 points in the two regular season meetings between the teams but was held to 14 on 5 of 15 shooting Tuesday night. Rudolph also collected 10 rebounds.
"I thought we played great inside defense. Our interior defense was strong," Clark said. "We played really good complementary basketball and then we rebounded. Then, as the game went on, we were able to find ways to get Ava the ball and get free. She still scored 20 but she was able to find her teammates and they were knocking down shots."
Rhinelander used an 11-4 run over the final 5:45 of the first half to lead 28-17 at the break. Lamers scored six of her eight first-half points in the closing spurt after Medford made a concerted effort to deny the Hodags' leading scorer and lone senior the basketball.
"They were really physical with Ava, just denied her the ball," Clark said. "The first half she had a hard time even getting the ball, but Leah Jamison hit a couple of big 3s and kind of the unsung hero would be Dawsyn Barkus coming in and having 11 points. She was huge."
Lamers scored seven of the first nine points of the second half as the lead grew to 19. A Rylee Hraby 3 trimmed the gap to 38-26 with 12:17 remaining, but the Hodags went on a team from there to put the game out of reach. The Hodags forced 18 turnovers, deciding to lean on their press more than they have at times during the second half of the season.
"Defensively, we played really well. We pressured them," Clark said. "We mixed up our presses from a 1-2-2 to a 2-1-2, kind of back and forth, and turned them over just enough and scored on them."
Barkus hit a pair of 3s in the decisive run, and connected on all three of her attempts from distance in the contest.
"She's just kind of finding her way as a varsity athlete and is just a sophomore," Clark said. "Since she was forced into action a few weeks back against Mosinee she's played really well. Today she hit her first shot, she hit a pull up, and then her second shot. She just played well with a lot of confidence and provided a huge lift."
Leah Jamison also hit three 3s and had nine points for the Hodags.
Hraby scored seven points for Rhinelander while Bryn Fronk was held to six. The Raiders finished the night just under 31% (13 of 42) from the field.
"Morgan held Bryn Fronk to six points and I think one of those baskets was a breakaway," Clark noted. "She really shut down a really good basketball player. I give her a lot of credit."
The Hodags will have their hands full tonight against the Bulldogs, who went 18-4 overall and finished runner-up in the Bay Conference. New London did drop its final two games of the regular season against Fox Valley Lutheran and Bay Conference champ West De Pere. They're led by senior guard Lizzie Stengraber, who is averaging 17.7 points per game.
Clark said this New London squad reminds him of the 2019 team that knocked off Rhinelander in the regional finals, stifling the Hodag offense.
"They ran a 2-3, really athletic, long, got out and defended the 3-point shot. They're going to be a handful. They're going to be hard to score on," he said. "It will be a big challenge, but we'll do the best we can and try to find what works and see if we can compete with them and find a way to beat them."
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. in New London. The winner of that game will take part in the regional finals on Saturday. If Rhinelander were to pull an upset, it would travel to the winner of tonight's Mosinee/Shawano contest.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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