Chances were there; Medford girls fall short at Onalaska

The Medford Raiders went into Thursday’s WIAA Division 2 girls basketball sectional semifinal believing they had the edge inside over Onalaska and the final numbers showed that.

But the Raiders also knew Onalaska’s 3-point prowess could be a game-changer and that also wound up being true with 11 Hilltopper 3-pointers being the difference in their 56-48 win.

As advertised, Onalaska senior guard Olivia Gamoke was the difference maker. She had a streaky night, but her five 3-point makes on 14 attempts helped her score a game-high 23 points. Ava Smith was three for seven from long range to finish with nine points for Onalaska. Both hit 3s at key times to either stop a Medford run or extend the lead just far enough to make it tough for the Raiders to keep pace.

“We had our chances,” Medford head coach Greg Klapatauskas said. “We just didn’t take advantage of them. We played with them pretty much the whole game. They hit a few more shots than us. We couldn’t score with them and take advantage of opportunities like we needed to.”

Second-seeded Onalaska (17-3) beat top-seeded Rice Lake 55-33 on Saturday afternoon to win the sectional championship and earn a spot in this Saturday’s state tournament in La Crosse. The Hill- toppers are the fourth seed in the state field and will play 26-1 Green Bay Notre Dame Saturday morning in La Crosse.

Medford, the sectional’s third seed, finished 13-9.

“It was only an eight-point game. It was not a blowout by any means,” Klapatauskas said. “I thought we were in it the whole game. If we can just somehow manage to make a couple of shots here or there, we’re right there.”

Neither team found the mark early. Onalaska led just 4-3 more than six minutes in when Gamoke hit a 3-pointer after the Raiders couldn’t grab a defensive rebound and Devyn Schmeling hit one off a kickout pass from Molly Garrity to make it 10-3 with 10:30 left in the first half. Garrity later hit a triple of her own to make it 13-5.

But Medford responded with an 8-0 run to tie it. Laurissa Klapatauskas started it with a free throw. She missed the second, but Katie Brehm went to the floor and won the battle for the rebound. She kicked it out to Klapatauskas and she stepped back and drilled what turned out to be Medford’s only 3-pointer of the game. The Raiders got a stop and transition chance for Martha Miller, who got fouled and sank both free throws. Miller got a steal that led to Brehm’s score at the rim to tie it at 13-13.

Schmeling and Smith knocked down back-to-back 3s to put Onalaska right back up 19-13. The lead grew to 25-17 after treys by Gamoke and Smith. The Raiders cut it to 25-20 on a Rynn Ruesch hoop, but Gamoke’s transition bucket off a Medford turnover made it 27-20 at the half.

“I think we had the ball three times after we tied it and couldn’t find a way to score,” Greg Klapatauskas said. “We had a couple of turnovers and then a couple of missed shots. I think if we could’ve gotten out to a lead after it was tied in the first half it might’ve changed the game a little bit. Maybe we put more pressure on them and they might’ve felt it a little more. Maybe not. They have three good senior guards, so they might not have felt the pressure at all.”

Medford’s senior guard, Marissa Fronk, scored to start the second half and was fouled. Her free throw rimmed out, keeping it a five-point game. The Raid- ers got a stop and had two good chances to score, but the shots rimmed out. Gamoke made them pay with a 3-pointer that started the run that ultimately put Onalaska up by too much for the Raiders to come back from.

The Hilltoppers nudged ahead 33-22, Brehm hit a left baseline jumper. Marissa Fronk knocked the ball free on the defensive end and Bryn Fronk picked it up and scored to make it 33-26. Ruesch hit one of two free throws to answer a Garrity hoop and make it 35-27 with 14:00 left. But Smith canned a 3 on Onalaska’s next possession to get the lead back to double digits. Klapatauskas scored to make it 38-29, but Garrity scored in transition and Gamoke hit a floater with 11:24 left to put the Toppers up by 13. After a Ruesch hoop, Gamoke rattled in a 3-pointer to give Onalaska its biggest lead at 45-31 with 10:30 left.

“We got out of rotation a few times,” Greg Klapatauskas said of Medford’s 2-3 zone. “They moved the ball really well. When we got out of rotation and they were open, they hit it. That was the difference in the game. When they had any type of open look, they were able to hit it. We gave them a lot of contested 3s. About 60% of their shots were 3s. That’s a lot of 3s to be throwing up. But that was the difference in the game. We shut them down inside. Overall defensively I was pretty pleased.

“I guess I stuck in the zone because I thought chasing them around wasn’t going to be better,” he added. “At the end of the game, I was thinking about going to man, but their man offense sets up their 3s just as much as their zone offense. I was worried chasing them around wasn’t going to be better.”

In a span of just over 6:30, Medford cut the 14-point deficit down to six. Brehm emerged with the ball in a mid-court scramble and dished it to Bryn Fronk who got a layup, Ruesch hit two free throws and Marissa Fronk converted a three-point play with 6:38 left to make it 47-38. The defense kept the Hilltoppers off the board for the next three minutes, but all the Raiders could must muster was free throws by Brehm and Bryn Fronk to pull within 47-41 at the 3:50 mark.

Twenty seconds later, Gamoke threw a baseline inbound pass, set a screen and then found open space from the right wing, where she took a pass from Smith and buried her biggest 3 of the night to push the lead back to nine.

The Raiders clawed back within six twice –– 50-44 on a Bryn Fronk free throw with 1:46 left following an offensive rebound that could have been a three-point play and 52-46 on a coast-to-coast attack by Ruesch with 50 ticks left. Schmeling’s free throws with 21 seconds left iced it. Klapatauskas scored Medford’s final points of the year on a layup with four seconds to go.

Klapatauskas and Ruesch scored 12 points apiece to lead the Raiders, while Brehm added five as Medford outscored Onalaska 24-12 in the paint and outrebounded the Hilltoppers 32-23. Brehm had a team-high eight rebounds, Klapatauskas had six and Ruesch grabbed five. Bryn Fronk scored eight points and had four assists. Marissa Fronk had seven points, two rebounds and two steals. Miller had four points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Medford shot 42.1% from the field, making 16 of 38 shots, including 15 of 32 from two-point range. Onalaska shot 40.4% (19 of 47), but their 11 long-range bombs on 29 attempts made up for its lower percentage. The Raiders turned the ball over 19 times compared to Onalaska’s 14. The Raiders were 15 of 25 at the free throw line, while Onalaska was seven for 10.

Schmeling had a solid outing with 10 points and five assists. Gamoke had nine defensive rebounds, three assists and two steals.

“We kept trying to attack and take it inside,” Greg Klapatauskas said. “It’s definitely what we’re looking for in the future, to keep taking advantage of that size and attack the rim. I told them if we can consistently finish, we can be scary good.”

After finishing with a 4-1 run, the Raiders could carry some momentum into next year when everyone excepttwotime, first-team All-GNC performer Marissa Fronk returns. Fronk is planning to play at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

“Hopefully we can have an off-season, unlike last year, and be able to take that next step where everybody gets a little bit better and be in the conversation,” Klapatauskas said. “That’s what I’d like to have from here on out is for Medford girls basketball to be in the conversation of both vying for the conference championship and making a run in the playoffs. It’s something I can see in the future.

It’s what I’d like the program to be.

“Marissa will be missed,” he added “She was the silent, lead-byexample type of kid that did everything I asked of her. She was the ultimate team player. She put the team winning above any of her own individual achievements. She’ll be missed. Good luck to her in the future. She’s a heck of a kid.”

Laurissa Klapatauskas

Marissa Fronk