January 9, 2023 at 8:10 a.m.
Lady Hodags can't keep up with Lakeland in home loss
Lady Hodags can't keep up with Lakeland in home loss
Rhinelander was the latest team left in the T-Birds' wake on Friday.
Lakeland took control with a key 16-0 run midway through the first half and never looked back, defeating the Hodags 77-48 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Senior Julianna Ouimette, who's committed to play NCAA Division I women's basketball at Lehigh University, scored a game-high 21 for the T-Birds. Lakeland had three other players in double digits on the night.
"I knew it would be a tall order. They're a very good basketball team. They have size, height, skill. They can shoot it," Hodag coach Ryan Clark said of a Lakeland team he considers to be the favorite to advance to the WIAA state tournament out of the northern Division 2 sectional.
The Hodags (4-7, 2-2 Great Northern) hit 12 3s in the contest, but never led. They came closest after Leah Jamison hit a 3 with 14:11 left in the first half that made it 8-6. But Lakeland scored 16 unanswered from there and eventually stretched the lead to 46-16 at halftime.
Lakeland's full-court pressure forced 14 Rhinelander turnovers in the first half, usually resulting in a transition look going the other way.
"I think they turned us over maybe three of the first four possessions, got some easy baskets," Clark said. "We'll play them again later in the year. We have to make some adjustments and get a little bit better."
Lakeland backed off the pressure in the second half and the Hodags kept pace, edging Lakeland 32-31 over the final 18 minutes.
Junior Lily Treder had the hot hand for Rhinelander Friday night. She finished 4 of 9 from beyond the arc and scored a team-high 20 points. Jamison added 15 on 5 of 9 from distance.
"We can shoot it," Clark said. "That's probably the best shooting team I've had in a couple years from the 3-point line. We hit 12 again. We're hitting 12 consistently it seems like at times, but we don't get anything else.
"I would like us to get where we have to find a way to get some points at the free throw line. We only had two attempts, and only six two-point field goals ... Even though we're shooting it very well I feel like we're a little bit too one-dimensional."
A Lakeland team that featured five players at 5-foot-10 or taller in its rotation kept Rhinelander's Ava Lamers in check all night. Lamers came in averaging 26.1 points per game, but was held to seven Friday night on 3 of 22 from the field. As a team, Rhinelander finished the night 33% from the floor (18 of 54).
"They did a good job against Ava," Clark said. "She was able to get inside of them a little bit. She tried some pull-ups and some runners. Those didn't fall, but she did a good job of finding her open teammates for shots. She draws a lot of attention."
Lily Fortier added 15 points for Lakeland (8-5, 4-0). Kristina Ouimette had 14, Ava Evenhouse chipped in 10 and Saylor Timmerman added seven points and 13 rebounds.
"I thought we did a pretty good job on Kristina, an OK job against Julianna, but Julianna's so good at making everyone else better," Clark said. "You try taking her away and she just finds her role players. I thought their other players really hurt us. You pick your poison and we didn't do the right one."
The loss was Rhinelander's fourth straight and the Hodags were in store for another tough contest Monday night on the road at Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, the No. 2 team in the WisSports.net D5 coaches poll. The Hodags will play again tonight as part of a doubleheader in Antigo.
"Antigo, they have much more size than we do. We'll try to speed up Antigo the best we can. That's a game we've got to find a way to win," Clark said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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