Jays, Cardinals fly by Lady Redmen

RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL

An opportunity for an upset win for the Rib Lake Lady Redmen was there into the second half Tuesday.

But Celina Ellenbecker went on a shooting tear, ending that hope in a 50-26 loss at Athens.

Ellenbecker scored 15 points, all in the second half to lead Athens’ push from an 18-10 halftime lead.

“Athens was a good battle for us most of the game,” Rib Lake head coach Mike Wudi said. “We rebounded well and were solid defensively except for a brief stretch in the second half when Celine Ellenbecker got hot and made four 3s in quick succession.”

Paula Lira added two 3s in the half for Athens and finished with 14 points.

Rib Lake got 10 points from Nellie Hopkins, five from Molly Heiser, four from Savana Radtke, a 3-pointer from Makenzie Weinzatl and two points apiece from Reagan Reinhardt and Tia Bube.

Radtke had nine rebounds, while Weinzatl, Hopkins and Heiser had five each. Hopkins had two steals. The team had 33 rebounds and made 11 of 36 shots from the field overall.

“We were much more aggressive attacking the basket in the second half, getting some high quality shots,” Wudi said. “The girls played hard and left it all on the court.”

Rib Lake was dominated Friday in a 65-14 loss at Marawood South leader Newman Catholic.

“Newman is simply way too strong for us,” Wudi said. “Their length with Jadelyn Ganksi at the top of their press created all kinds of trouble for us. Their 3-point shooting was on and they broke the game open early. They are definitely one of the best teams we have faced so far this season.”

Newman led 44-7 at the half.

Weinzatl had a nice night offensively, scoring 11 points for the Redmen. Radtke had two points and nine rebounds. Senja Koch added a free throw. Jolee Gehrke and Reinhardt had three rebounds each. Radtke and Rebekah Strobach each had a steal.

The Redmen only got 22 shots off against Newman’s tough defense, making five. They were four of 12 from the free throw line.

Newman Catholic put three players in double figures, led by Julia Seidel’s 17 points. She hit four 3s in the first half alone. Lauren Shields added 13 points while making five of six shots. Alex Frankel scored 11.

The Redmen (1-13 Marawood, 2-17 overall) will finish the regular season by hosting Stratford Friday at 7:15 p.m. in their final Marawood crossover of the year, traveling to Lake Holcombe for a non-conference game Monday at 6:30 p.m. (no JV game) and hosting Abbotsford at 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 20.