THE LONG ROAD TO SUCCESS

MARINETTE — There were plenty of ups and downs for the Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team during the regular season. The Hodags went through the wringer in the non-conference schedule, as well as against the top teams in the Great Northern Conference. 

Those trials and tribulations toughened the Hodags’ resolve for a moment when they needed it most in the postseason. 

    Rhinelander’s Lexi Beran puts up a shot against Marinette’s Sophia Baron during the first half of a WIAA Division 2 girls’ basketball regional final game in Marinette Saturday, Feb. 28. Beran scored nine points, including a go-ahead basket with 2:26 remaining, as the Hodags defeated the Marines, 47-43. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Lexi Beran scored off an offensive rebound with 2:26 remaining, and the Hodags erased an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Marinette 47-43 Saturday night, winning the team’s first WIAA regional title since 2020 in the process. 

That win came off the heels of a 42-27 home victory over Pulaski a night earlier and earned the Hodags (16-10) a rematch with top-seeded Shawano Thursday night in the sectional semifinals. 

From about the 10 1/2-minute mark of the first half to about three minutes into the second, nothing seemed to go the Hodags’ way. Rhinelander had only one field goal in that span while Marinette (13-13), a team that shot just 26% from 3-point range during the regular season, seemed to hit every shot it took.

Yet the Hodags never flinched, finally found their stroke and rode a defense that forced 26 turnovers to the regional title.

“We just stayed composed, and we are a tough team. We are a tough team. We held our composure, and that’s what helped us win,” said junior Aubryn Clark, who scored a game-high 20 points.

The result put Rhinelander back into round of 16 in the WIAA tournament for the first time since the group led by Kenedy Van Zile and Cynthia Beavers lost to Hortonville right before the COVID shutdown in 2020.

Rhinelander suffered 10 losses during the regular season. All but two of the teams the Hodags lost two are still alive entering the second week of the WIAA tournament, a testament to the gauntlet the Hodags faced outside the GNC.

“This was a trying year,” Hodag coach Ryan Clark said. “There’s a lot of really good positive moments, and then some not so good. Our coaching staff, we did the best we could, but sometimes we navigated it incorrectly, how to handle some of those tough losses against the good teams we played. But we kept telling them, ‘We can win this regional. We have to believe, we have to keep getting better.’ We didn’t have to win it back in January. We had to win it by the end of February.”

Teagan Clark hit a 3 just over a minute into the second half, ending an 11-minute, 56-second drought from the field that saw the Hodags go from up 12-6 to trailing 25-14. Her make sparked a 19-8 run that culminated with an Aubryn Clark 3 that tied the game at 33 with 10:54 remaining.

Marinette shot 50% from the field overall and went 9 of 15 from 3-point range on the night. They hit two more seeming daggers — one from Bianca Furton and another by Brynn Coakley — to go ahead 43-37 with 4:41 left. That’s when Rhinelander made its final push.

    Rhinelander’s Teagan Clark drives in for a layup ahead of Marinette’s Elizabeth Wade during the second half of a WIAA Division 2 girls’ basketball regional final game in Marinette Saturday, Feb. 28. Clark scored 12 points in the Hodags 47-43 win. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Beran scored in the post, followed by a driving layup by Vivian Lamers to trim the lead to two with 3:24 remaining. Teagan Clark then got a steal and transition layup to tie it with 2:55 left. Aubryn Clark then picked the pocket of Delaney Menor and drove in for the potential go-ahead bucket. She missed, but Beran was there for the offensive rebound and went up through two defenders to give Rhinelander a 45-43 lead with 2:26 left. 

“I always got trust in my teammates. They make most of them, but every now and then, we always talk about it in practice that you always follow (the shot), whether or not it goes in. Then you’re right there to help them get in, and you’re right there to pressure on defense right away anyway,” Beran said. “That’s just something we always talk about. And I was the closest girl, so I got there as fast as I could, and it just worked out.”

“When I got the steal, and I miss it, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ but Lexi was right there,” Aubryn Clark said. “That just shows like her tenacity to get after it and get that rebound and put it back up. That was just a tough, winning play. And that really just kind of helped the momentum keep going.”

Marinette finally missed a 3 with 2:10 remaining, and the Hodags held on to the ball until finally getting put to the foul line with 56.3 seconds left. Though Aubryn Clark missed the one-and-one free throw, Marinette committed a turnover on its next possession, and Aubryn Clark split a pair of free throws on her next trip to the line with 36 seconds left. After a timeout with 20.8 seconds left, Marinette made another mistake as Elizabeth Wade caught the inbound pass in the frontcourt and then dropped her heel back onto the timeline for a backcourt violation. Aubryn Clark made one more free throw with 17.4 seconds left, and Marinette didn’t get off another shot until a Ward off-balance chance in the final moments. Vivian Lamers grabbed the rebound and the celebration began.

“They’re pretty excited, which they should be,” coach Clark said. ‘They earned this, but I’m really proud. They were ready for this moment. They had to play two good teams, and like tonight was a fight. And to do it here at this place, awesome.”  

Rhinelander shot just 20% (5 of 25) in the first half and trailed 21-14 at the break. Coakley, a 22% 3-point shooter during the regular season, made 4 of 5 on Saturday to finish with a team-high 12 points for Marinette. Ward, who averaged more than 19 points per game, was held to 10 in the contest while Furton scored eight before fouling out with 1:02 remaining.

Teagan Clark added 12 points for Rhinelander while Lamers had six. 

Rhinelander 42, Pulaski 27

   Rhinelander’s Aubryn Clark drives against Pulaski’s Brooke Berry during the first half of a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Friday, Feb. 28. Clark scored a game-high 18 points in the Hodags’ 42-27 win. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodags were efficient on offense Friday as they defeated Pulaski in the regional semifinals at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. Rhinelander shot a season best 8 of 18 (44%) from 3-point range and shot 40% overall as it led nearly wire-to-wire.

“That was a really good win. I thought that was a toss-up game. Thought we were a little bit better, but we needed to play well, and we did,” coach Clark said. “That’s our best (3-point) percentage by far, and they were big ones too. I felt like anytime Pulaski hit a shot or got a three-point play or just enough to kind of keep it close to 10, somebody hit a 3 the other way.”

The Hodags gave up the first four points, but then scored 10 in a row to take a lead they would never relinquish. Rhinelander led 23-10 at half. Pulaski closed to within nine on two separate occasions in the second half, but the Hodags answered with runs of 8-0 and 8-2 to put the game away.

Aubryn Clark had 18 in the contest while Teagan Clark and Lamers scored nine each. Olivia Sprangers led Pulaski (9-17) with 16 points. 

Shawano ahead

Rhinelander gets a rematch with Shawano Thursday night. The Hawks, led by Wisconsin Badger recruit Leah Nordin, are 17-9 on the year and come in off wins of 62-52 over Lakeland and 54-41 over New London in their first two tournament games.

Nordin averages more than 26 points per game, but was held to 15 points when Rhinelander traveled to Shawano Jan. 20. She scored the final two buckets of regulation, however, which broke a 37-all tie and gave the Hawks a 42-38 victory over Rhinelander. 

“I know we fell just short (against) them last time, but that was one of our closest games,” Beran said. “Obviously, they’re a phenomenal team, but we’ve faced them before, and we were right there with them, and I definitely think we’ve improved since then. Our shooting has gotten up. We’ve been playing better as a team, and so I definitely think that we’ve got a great shot.”

Rhinelander shot just 28% in that game and committed 17 turnovers against Shawano’s trapping 1-3-1 zone. Aubryn Clark scored 18 in the first meeting and Beran had 11. Jaydn Brown had 14 points, and Anna Dreier chipped in eight for the Hawks. 

After that game, coach Clark said his team needed to do a better job of responding to adversity.

“We need a little bit better next-play mentality. And I’ll take the ownership on that. If we can do that, and not beat ourselves, but just have a little bit better response to mistakes, I think we’ll be pretty tough to beat,” he said.

Antigo has been chosen as the sectional semifinal location for Thursday’s contest. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Coach Clark didn’t seem to care where the game would be played following Saturday’s victory. Just getting another game was a reward in itself.

“You get an opportunity to play in the sectionals, best feeling in the world,” he said. “Thanks to our fans that came out and support us and everyone that’s watching back home. I love it. I can’t wait. It doesn’t matter who we play. We get to play.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].