Raiders recover from rough start to defeat the Red Robins

MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL

Things got off to an ugly start Friday but once the Medford Raiders settled down late in the first half, they were able to break down Antigo’s zone and halfcourt pressure to pull away for a muchneeded 43-30 road win. Already hurting from the seasonending knee injury to guard Bryn Fronk, Medford was also without forward Katie Brehm, who injured an ankle at the end of practice Thursday, and had been playing her best basketball in recent games.

Eleven minutes in, Medford trailed 12-3 but senior Autumn Krause played a key role in getting the Raiders into the flow with three straight assists from the left wing, two to Breanna Kraemer and one to Rynn Ruesch, and a 3-pointer that tied the game at 12-12 with 3:30 left in the half.

A Laurissa Klapatauskas score, another 3-pointer from Krause and a free throw by Ruesch with 1:38 left capped the game-changing 15-0 run that put the Raiders ahead for good. Brooke Rudolph answered an offensive putback by Antigo’s Sophie Schlieve with one of her own to give Medford a 20-14 halftime lead.

“We started to move the ball better,” Medford head coach Greg Klapatauskas said. “Once we started to break their press we were able to work the ball for some good looks inside and we got a few layups right out of the press break. We want to be patient, but if that’s there we have to take advantage of it.”

The Raiders got up by eight at 24-16 on a short shot by Lydia Pernsteiner, again set up by a good lead pass from Krause, but Antigo went on a little 8-2 spurt to close within 26-24 and Klapatauskas went to the bench with 9:51 left after picking up her fourth foul on an offensive charge call.

But a Krause score in transition off a Ruesch assist with 8:27 left sparked a 15-2 run that clinched it for the Raiders. Ruesch’s steal led to another Krause hoop, Rudolph drove through the lane and scored and Klapatauskas hit three of four free throws after returning to action.

Pernsteiner saved a possession by forcing a held ball in the backcourt and was rewarded by ending the possession with a baseline jumper, Ruesch hit a free throw and Klapatauskas put it away with a three-point play that made it 41-26 with 1:22 left.

“What I think I liked best was at the end of the game we had a great possession where we held the ball for about a minute,” Greg Klapatauskas said. “It was nice to see us move the ball around. We said at that point, let’s be patient and run the offense until we get a good shot. If the shot’s not in the paint we’re not taking it.”

Krause led Medford with 12 points, five steals and four assists. Rudolph had 11 points and seven rebounds. Klapatauskas had eight points and eight rebounds.

Ruesch chipped in with four points, four steals and three assists, while Pernsteiner and Kraemer had four points apiece. Kraemer had seven rebounds. Sophie Brost had four rebounds in seven minutes.

“Autumn hit a couple of big 3s for us,” Greg Klapatauskas said. “Lydia played a better game, more under control. Brooke had kind of been struggling at the free throw line the last couple games, but she hit four big ones in the second half for us. Breanna got some big rebounds for us. She and Laurissa have been neck and neck in rebounding for us the last couple games. Sophie did better too, getting some key rebounds when she was in.”

Schlieve and Jenna Czerneski led Antigo with eight points apiece. Schlieve had 17 rebounds. Antigo fell to 2-7 in the GNC and 3-17 overall with a loss at Northland Pines Monday.

“We played good enough to win, especially being down another starter,” Klapatauskas said. “They were much better than when we played them the first time. I liked how we played defensively. We did a nice job going between our 1-2-2 and 2-1-2 zones, giving them different looks to adjust to.”

Medford has a tough challenge tonight, Thursday, at Lakeland in the rescheduled date of a Jan. 21 postponement. The Raiders host Tomahawk Friday at Raider Hall at 7:15 p.m.

The team starts next week by hosting Big Rivers Conference-leading Menomonie on Monday at 7:15 p.m. and will then head to Rhinelander Tuesday for another challenging GNC road trip.