February 27, 2023 at 12:57 p.m.
Lady Hodags' upset bid falls short at New London
Lady Hodags' upset bid falls short at New London
The top-seeded Bulldogs were put on upset alert by the eighth-seeded Hodags Friday night, but made enough plays down the stretch to secure a 62-49 victory in a WIAA regional semifinal contest.
Rhinelander (11-15) kept pace with New London (20-4) much of the night and found itself down only 3 after back-to-back Leah Jamison triples made it 48-45 with 6 minutes remaining.
Lizzie Steingraber had 20 points for the Bulldogs to lead all scorers. That included a bucket with 5:30 left that sparked a decisive 10-0 run.
"I thought we executed OK, we played the pace we needed to play to compete and be in there at the end, I just wish that thing was still about 5-6 points with 2-3 (minutes) to go, and it just got back up to 10," Hodag coach Ryan Clark said. "I'm disappointed that we got beat, but I think we can hold our heads up high."
That was a sentiment echoed from the Hodags' lone senior, Ava Lamers, who scored 19 points in her final high school contest.
"Everyone thought that we would just come in here and it was going to be a pounding, whatever and go home," she said "... We came in here, and I thought we did a really good job of giving that effort, knowing that we're playing confident."
The Hodags were unintimidated by New London, and led on a couple of occasions in the first half. Lily Treder had 17 for the Hodags, including a 3 that gave Rhinelander an early 9-8 advantage and a three-point play that capped an 8-1 run to put Rhinelander up 21-19 with 4:22 left in the half.
Steingraber answered on the other end, credited with a step-back 3 on the left wing with 4 minutes before the break - though video replay shows her right foot was clearly inside the arc when she took the shot. That sparked a 10-4 run to end the half, capped by a Jensen Mix 3 just before the break that gave the Bulldogs a 29-25 lead.
Steingraber then scored seven of New London's first nine points in the second half, and the Bulldogs eventually opened a 46-32 lead with 9:45 remaining.
Rhinelander answered with one final push, hitting four of their eight 3s on the night in a 13-2 run that closed the lead down to a single possession.
"That's the beauty with these kids - they can shoot the 3. Ava, Leah and Lily all contributed on that and they just kept battling," Clark said.
Ultimately, however, New London's superior length and athleticism won the night. The Bulldogs forced 23 turnovers and held a 34-19 edge on the glass. New London had 18 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second-chance points.
Those factors also led to a major shot disparity in the contest. Rhinelander hung around despite taking less than half as many shots as New London. The Hodags were 15 of 27 from the field (56%). New London finished 27 of 57 from the floor (47%).
The Bulldogs also held a 44-12 edge on points in the paint.
"In the first half, especially, we gave up a lot of easy live-ball turnovers," Clark said. "I told them we should be up in the first half and we're down four. That was a big one, the live-ball turnovers for easy baskets. Then the second half, just the offensive rebound putbacks really kind of killed us. They went down hard, posted up hard and they got a lot of putbacks."
Shelby Glodowski added 17 points for New London while Kenna Mix had 12. Lamers and Treder combined for 36 of Rhinelander's 49 points.
While there was disappointment, the Hodags were able to take solace in the fact that they played some of their best basketball toward the end of the regular season. They avenged an mid-season loss to Antigo to finish tied for third in the GNC and then dominated a third meeting against Medford to advance to Friday night's regional semifinal round.
"I think the way we played the last month and the way we played today, we gave a great showing in a tough environment," Clark said.
In the end, Rhinelander finished 11-15 with a team that had only two players returning who logged significant varsity minutes last season - Lamers and Treder.
"I knew we were going to be inexperienced but, like Clark always says, we still expect to win, and I expected to win," Lamers said. "We lost some close battles we should have won but we talked about in the locker room about how we finished the season hard. We got to the point we needed to be at, even with the struggles."
Much of that had to do with Lamers play as she carried the team offensively at times during the season, averaging more than 23 points per game.
"To be the only senior on this team and really have to carry us - mentally, physically for a long time - then her teammates just starting getting some confidence and she's one of those kids that empowers others and inspires others," Clark said. "She doesn't put anyone down. She's real easy to play with, and she's a competitor. She's had a phenomenal year.
"I thought tonight, she should have her head up high. To go out in your last game, on the road and lose a dogfight, I thought she left it all on the court and she should be proud of herself."
Clark has had only one season with fewer than 10 wins in his 10 years at the helm of the Hodag girls' program. With most of this year's rotation due back and a promising incoming freshman class, hopes are high that the team can continue building next year.
"The returning kids we have and the group we have coming in, it should be a competitive environment at practice," Clark said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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