Rice Lake races past Lady Hodags 78-21

RICE LAKE — The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team could not keep up with one of the best teams in their section, and one of the best juniors in the state, on Monday night.

Adaline Sheplee scored 25 points and Rice Lake blitzed Rhinelander 78-21 in non-conference play.

It marked the second straight year that the Hodags were blown out by the Warriors early in the season. Rice Lake, who is in the same half section as Rhinelander for the WIAA Division 2 tournament, won in Rhinelander 81-34 last year. 

Hodag coach Ryan Clark chalked Monday night’s loss up to a learning experience against a stronger team.

“You’ve got to learn something from every game. Obviously, it’s humiliating when you get beat this bad,” he said. “For the girls we’ve got to take this as an opportunity to get better. We always say we practice to beat the best and I think we didn’t understand what that meant until tonight when we couldn’t do the things we thought we could do last week.” 

Sheplee, a 6-3 junior who has already garnered multiple D-I offers, scored 20 in the first half alone as the Warriors started the game on a 27-5 run and led 45-11 by the break. 

“They got on us quick. They’re aggressive. Sheplee is obviously one of the top players in the state and the country. She’s a phenomenal talent. That’s a very disciplined team though. They screen her open well. They have good actions to get her the basketball in all kinds of different spots. She does a good job of understanding. Her basketball instincts are really strong.”

Sheplee also drew the man-to-man defensive assignment against the Hodags’ leading scorer, Aubryn Clark. Though Clark scored 14 in the contest, she was held to 5 of 15 from the field. 

She didn’t get much help as the rest of her Hodag teammates were a combined 3 of 18 on the night. 

“I thought Sheplee did a really good job defensively. She moved her feet well. Aubryn, I liked the fact that she was wanting to attack her and make plays, but Adaline did a really nice job,” coach Clark said.

The Warriors opened the game on a 13-0 run and then scored 14 in a row after the Hodags made a couple of buckets. Rhinelander was just 4 of 14 from the field and committed 16 turnovers in the half. Rice Lake outscored the Hodags 15-1 over the final 4:12 of the first to take a 34-point lead at the break.

“We’ve got to find a way to get to halftime, make some adjustments and still have a chance to be in the game,” coach Clark said. “Defensively, that’s how we have to play defense. They communicate really well. They’re making one or two screens and getting a wide open player. We set 10 screens — although not very good ones — but we screened a little bit and couldn’t get open. Their defense, I think we can learn a lot.”

Sophomore Addison Schmidt, a 6-1 forward, scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half as Rice Lake continued to pull away. The Warriors started the second half on a 12-3 run and were up 64-17 at the 9-minute mark of the second half, when the running clock rule went into effect with the Warriors ahead by more than 35 points. 

Emily Kalina and Sydney Schradle scored nine points each for Rice Lake, which finished the night shooting just over 66% from the field (33 of 49). The 57-point final margin marked the largest loss for Rhinelander in coach Clark’s 11 seasons at the helm. 

    Rhinelander’s Makenna Sternitzky guards Rice Lake’s Adaline Sheplee during a non-conference girls’ basketball game in Rice Lake Monday, Nov. 25. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Makenna Sternitzky was Rhinelander’s second-leading scorer with four points, scoring a couple of layups late in the second half. 

“I’m really happy she got some experience. She’s a super, super kid. She’s earned those minutes on the floor,” coach Clark said of the senior reserve forward who missed the 2023-24 season with a knee injury. “I’m glad that she was confident to go and get to the basket, and post up hard. There are games where she can help us. If she keeps getting in better shape, she’s a load inside. Teams are going to have to single up or double her, and if they double her, she’s a really unselfish teammate. We can do some things there.”

The Hodags did not get through the game healthy, either. Senior Kelsey Winter left the game with an apparent left knee injury early in the first half and did not return. Coach Clark said it was too early to tell how much time, if any, Winter will miss. 

“Kelsey’s been nothing but absolutely awesome as a leader as a senior this year. I just hope that she can keep going for us,” he said. “When you take a Kelsey out, who’s been starting since a sophomore, that’s a huge, mental hole. I think Kelsey is kind of our fire. She’s going to be very vocal. She’s going to keep battling. She’s fearless. When she goes down, now we have another inexperienced player checking in.”

The Hodags (1-1, 0-0 Great Northern) will face D.C. Everest and Wausau West this weekend as they host the Tom Kilsow Memorial Tournament at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium (see related story, page 16). 

Coach Clark said the games will serve as a chance for the Hodags to bounce back before opening Great Northern Conference play at home against Medford this Tuesday.

“This should make us better. I think we’ll respond in the right way. I love the fact that we are young. I think our growth will really be rapid,” he said. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].