Lady Hodags split games in Wis. Dells

WISCONSIN DELLS — Last weekend, the Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team got a little more than it bargained for against a two-win Ripon team and perhaps fared better than expected against an undefeated Wisconsin Dells squad.

Rhinelander had to hold on down the stretch to defeat the Tigers 55-47 on Friday and hung around Saturday despite offensive woes in a 47-34 loss to the Chiefs.

Overall, despite some struggles scoring in both games, coach Ryan Clark said he came away happy with his team’s performance as the Hodags (8-2, 4-0 Great Northern) brace for key games against GNC foes Lakeland and Mosinee later this month. 

“I think it was a good tournament for us,” he said. “I think we’re getting better, but we have a really tough schedule upcoming. So this is a good little precursor, but there’s some good teams coming up.”

Vivian Lamers scored a game-high 19 points Friday against Ripon. She made five of her last seven free throws to salt the game away after an 18-point Hodag lead with under six minutes to play shrunk to just six. 

Rhinelander struggled to hit shots in the first half, and had all it could handle from the Tigers early in the going. The Hodags were just 9 of 31 from the field in the first half and leading scorer Aubryn Clark made only one of her first 12 looks from the floor prior to sinking a left-wing 3 in the final seconds that put the Hodags up 27-25 at the break. 

Clark finished with 17 for the Hodags, including nine points in a 14-0 run to open the second half. After Ripon cut the lead back to 11, the Hodags answered with three straight buckets, including a Lamers layup in transition that put Rhinelander up 48-30 with 6:14 remaining. 

That ended up being Rhinelander’s last field goal. A combination of missed shots, turnovers and fouls allowed Ripon to hang around. Aubryn Clark fouled out with 1:29 to go on a made putback by Adalin Nodolf, who also hit the subsequent free throw to cut Rhinelander’s lead to 49-43. Lamers responded by making four straight free throws and Ripon never got any closer than eight points the rest of the way. 

“We were really sloppy and, to their credit, Ripon was 16 and for 19 from the free throw line,” coach Clark said. “We kept them in the game and then they came all the way back. Aubryn fouled out and we didn’t use the clock to our advantage. We kept trying to score and we kept giving them more possessions. So, but things we can learn from. 

“I thought Vivian had a really nice game for us came through, hit her free throws, but also was kind of like all over the place on offense as well, so she scored. and then flies (back on defense).”

Nodolf led three Tigers in double figures with 16 points, while Bryn Carlson (14 points-14 rebounds) and Emma Resop (10-12) each posted double-doubles. 

Rhinelander committed several turnovers early Saturday against the Dells, digging itself a hole it could not fully escape. The Chiefs took a 10-3 lead to start the game and then went on a 14-0 run after the Hodags cut the lead to three. Overall, Rhinelander was 4 of 17 from the field and committed 16 turnovers in the first half as it trailed 24-11 at the break. 

“I thought we did OK as it went on, but overall, though it’s too many turnovers on the offense and Aubryn had way too many sloppy turnovers,” coach Clark said. “Then, just finishing in general. Believe it or not, I think we’re shooting better this year from 3. Not as many 3s, but better than last year percentage-wise, but we’re missing a lot of finishes. Some uncontested layups, some putbacks, and even some inside with a little bit of contact — but nothing foul-worthy. We’re just not finishing very well.”

To wit, 3-pointers got Rhinelander back into the contest early in the second. The Hodags got four over the first six-plus minutes of the half — two each from Aubryn Clark and JaLyn LaChapelle — to close to within 28-25. The Chiefs answered with a 14-4 run, capped by seven straight points from freshman Jazlyn Alwyn to push the lead back to 42-29 with 8:35 remaining and the Hodags were unable to get the margin back within single digits. 

    Rhinelander’s JaLyn LaChapelle attempts a 3 during the second half of a non-conference girls’ basketball game in Wisconsin Dells Saturday, Dec. 28. LaChapelle scored a career-high 11 points in Saturday’s game. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

The Hodags were without Lamers in the game due to a family commitment. Aubryn Clark had 20 points and eight rebounds for Rhinelander while LaChapelle hit three 3s in the second half and finished with a career-high 11 points. 

“I thought JaLyn had a really nice game, and credit to her, I told her she had those two 3s, but that that’s because in June, July and August, she’d ride her bike in and she’d shoot away almost every day. And so all that work was for this moment today,” coach Clark said. “Defensively, I thought we battled really hard. The girls were bought in, they competed hard just half-court man defense. Offensively, we struggled a little bit, part of it just skill at the moment for the varsity level. But I thought we grew a lot in the second half.”

Natalie Backhaus scored 16 to lead three Chiefs in double figures. Alwin and Ashiya Hopkins each scored 10 points each in the win. 

The Hodags are back home tonight to face Wisconsin Rapids in non-conference play. That will be followed by a road trip to Three Lakes this Tuesday. That precedes a tough three-game stretch in GNC play where the Hodags will face Lakeland, Mosinee and Medford back-to-back-to-back.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].