Redmen beaten by Jays and Wildcats

RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL

Unable to penetrate Athens’ length in its 1-3-1 defensive zone, the Rib Lake Lady Redmen were no match for the Marawood North-leading Blue Jays Tuesday night, falling 71-17 to the visiting Blue Jays.

Sophia Coker was the dominant force for Athens inside, scoring 19 points, while Jazelle Hartwig also scored 19 for the undefeated Blue Jays, who improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in Marawood Conference play. Celina Ellenbecker took care of the outside work, hitting a trio of 3s for nine points.

Rib Lake got six points from junior Josie Scheithauer and four from sophomore Madison Grzanna as scoring was tough to find under a plethora of turnovers against the zone, which was spearheaded at the point most often by Addison Lavicka.

Rib Lake did scrap its way to a solid start defensively, contesting shots and offensive rebounds to slow Athens down. Athens only led 8-2 six minutes in before an 11-0 run after a timeout created separation. Kianna Dallmann hit a short jumper to stop the run. Kamryn Annala sank a short shot from the left baseline and Grzanna scored in the paint to cut Athens’ lead to 22-8. But the Jays went on a 15-0 run over the last 4:24 to close out the half and take a 37-8 lead into the locker room.

Athens extended that lead to 52-8 before Rib Lake (1-3 Marawood, 2-3 overall) finally got points on an aggressive drive by Scheithauer with 12:37 left in the game. Rib Lake had another second-half highlight when Grzanna scored and had a chance at a three-point play with 5:50 left. She missed the free throw, but Jennie Pichea got the rebound, scored, was fouled and made her free throw to give the Redmen a quick five points.

Rib Lake gets another tough one Friday, visiting Marathon in a Marawood Conference crossover. The game tips at about 7:15 p.m. as game two of a varsity doubleheader. The boys get things started at 5:30 p.m. Rib Lake has a non-conference game at Owen-Withee on Dec. 16.

Edgar 69, Rib Lake 23

Friday in Rib Lake, Edgar controlled the paint and also took advantage of Rib Lake’s 25 turnovers in its 69-23 win over the Lady Redmen in a Marawood North crossover matchup.

Edgar outrebounded Rib Lake 51-30, scored 32 points in the paint and shot 41.3% from the field compared to just 15.9% for the Redmen (seven for 44), who were without one of their top inside presences in Tessa Weik.

Rib Lake held one lead in the game, 1-0, but battled to keep the game tight through the first 10 minutes. Addison Gumz had the team’s first six points, including a three-point play to pull Rib Lake within 8-6 just over six minutes in. Kiana Dallmann scored with just under nine minutes to go in the half to make it 15-8 and she took a charge defensively for one of Rib Lake’s top plays in the half.

But a 3-point shot by Edgar’s Leah Davis sparked an 11-3 spurt that opened up a 26-11 lead that sent the Wildcats on their way. Edgar hit 11 of 15 free throws in the half, got 16 points off turnovers and 13 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds in the half to build an insurmountable 39-15 halftime lead.

Madison Grzanna scored off an offensive rebound by Avery Niemi for the first points of the second half, but Edgar slammed the door on any hopes of a rally by sandwiching two 3s by Davis around a hoop from Morgan Schnelle to go up 49-17.

Gumz scored nine points for Rib Lake in the loss and had five steals and two rebounds. Freshman Tahlia Scheithauer had some good moments, scoring seven points, including a three-point play in the first half. She had three rebounds and a steal. Dallmann had five points, three rebounds and two assists. Grzanna had two points, three rebounds and two assists. Niemi led the team with seven rebounds and had two assists. Josie Scheithauer and Jennie Pichea both had three rebounds.

Reagan Borchardt led Edgar, who improved to 4-0, with 17 points and 21 rebounds. She also blocked two shots while owning the lane. Davis added 15 points, all of which came on five made 3-pointers on 10 attempts.