Rib Lake keeps battling, finally overtakes Falcons in last minute
RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Rib Lake Lady Redmen didn’t lead for long Monday, but the Redmen took the lead at the right time, overtaking Flambeau in the final 30 seconds to steal a 60-58 non-conference win and break the team’s 12-game losing streak.
Head coach Joe Treffinger said one of his pre-game comments to the team was to give him a chance to coach late in the game and the Redmen did that, keeping this one close throughout. The team’s only lead in the first half was 9-8, but the Falcons also never led by more than eight. The half ended with Flambeau leading 30-24.
Rib Lake tied the game at 30-30 with a 6-0 run to start the second half on a long two-point shot by Kamryn Annala, two free throws by Avery Niemi and another long two, this time from Madilyn Blomberg. Flambeau went ahead 37-33 but Rib Lake came surging back on consecutive 3s from Addison Gumz, Josie Scheithauer and Isabelle Gumz to take a 42-37 lead with 10 minutes to go.
As quickly as the Lady Redmen got that lead, it was gone. Flambeau’s Lizzy Biller and Brooklyn Ludescher scored inside, Madyson Martin scored off a steal, then free throws by Martin and Alyssa Kopacz capped a 10-1 run that put the Falcons up 47-43 with seven minutes to play.
But the young Rib Lake squad didn’t fold, it responded.
“They just seemed to get stronger as the game went on,” Treffinger said. “Their will to win this one came through.”
Defensively, Rib Lake regained its grip and held Flambeau without a field goal for about eight minutes and offensively, they were able to chip away.
Tahlia Scheithauer hit one of two free throws, then Annala hit a pull-up jumper to cut the lead to one. Blomberg’s rebound on a missed free throw by Tahlia Scheithauer led to a Josie Scheithauer score that tied it at 48-48.
Offensive rebounding was a big key.
Rib Lake turned 18 offensive rebounds into 24 second-chance points.
“They played their 2-3 zone really high, so when a shot flew, we were able to get four or five girls in there, while they still had two or three coming down from the top,” Treffinger said.
The game then became a free throw contest for a bit. Josie Scheithauer knocked down two with 1:54 to go to pull Rib Lake within 52-51. Biller hit one of two, but Falcon Rayna Verdegan missed two after a steal that could’ve put the Falcons up by two scores. Flambeau finally ended its field goal drought on a steal and score by Biller that made it 55-51.
Rib Lake beat Flambeau’s press and got Isabelle Gumz free for a layup. After two more missed free throws, Rib Lake beat the press again and Tlusty scored with 48 seconds left to tie it at 55-55. Rib Lake got possession off a held ball with 30.2 seconds left and, again, the Redmen beat the press as Tlusty dribbled through the middle of the court and found Isaballe Gumz for the go-ahead layup with 22 seconds left.
“We look to get the ball over the halfcourt line and then look for the open player on the opposite side,” Treffinger said. “She should be there because the defense is concerned about getting that trap. If we can get that diagonal skip pass, it’ll be there and it was.”
Tahlia Scheithauer got a steal and made two clutch free throws to put Rib Lake up 59-55 with 12.6 seconds and that was enough to withstand Martin’s 3 in the final seconds. Scheithauer hit one more free throw with 0.2 seconds left.
“I was really happy,” Treffinger said. “We needed it.”
Josie Scheithauer scored 15 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead Rib Lake. Addison Gumz had one of her strongest games of the season with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Annala had seven points, seven rebounds, four steals and six defensive deflections, giving her the night’s effort trophy.
“Kamy really stepped up,” Treffinger said.
The performances of Rib Lake’s freshmen were crucial. Isabelle Gumz scored all eight of her points late. Niemi had eight points, six rebounds and seven deflections. Tahlia Scheithauer had six points, two rebounds and two late assists. Tlusty had three points and two rebounds. Junior Jennie Pichea added a bucket off an Addison Gumz save.
Ali Hruby led Flambeau (3-12) with 18 points. Biller and Martin had 11 each.
Rib Lake couldn’t quite carry the momentum to a second straight win on Tuesday. The Redmen fell 50-41 at Mellen in a late addition to the schedule. Details were not available at press time.
Rib Lake is back at home tonight, Thursday, hosting Newman Catholic in a Marawood Conference crossover. The Lady Redmen host Marawood North rival Abbotsford on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.
Columbus 36, Rib Lake 17
Just 24 hours after finding solid success against a zone employed by one-loss Athens, Rib Lake struggled to find any openings against a sticky man-to-man half-court defense from Columbus Catholic and lost contact in the latter stages of the second half in a 36-17 home loss.
Despite shooting just 11.1% from the field, the Lady Redmen weren’t out of it until about the last five minutes. Columbus Catholic also had trouble shooting the basketball at 25.9% from the field and making just two of 10 free throws, but the Dons hit three early 3-pointers to take control of the game and then got a couple of shots to fall once Rib Lake went to some full-court man-to-man pressure to put it away.
Hailey Zimmerman hit a pair of 3s and Jenna Kibbel nailed one on the game’s first possession to put Columbus up 9-2 off the bat. Kibbel’s corner 3 made it 17-4 with 3:10 left in the half, but Rib Lake got a Josie Scheithauer score off a cut to the basket and an assist from Addison Gumz to make it 17-6 at the half.
The Redmen stayed in that 10-12 point range behind the Dons for much of the second half, but four Scheithauer free throws in a four-minute span cut the deficit to 23-15 with 7:36 to go. She took a shot at getting Rib Lake even closer 32 seconds later but was called for a charge, her fourth foul of the night. Columbus turned that into a 12-foot shot in the lane by Hailey Klumb and Sam Casperson hit a long two from the right corner to build the visitors’ lead back up to 12 at 27-15. A Zimmerman score followed by a 3-point shot from Maggie Callaghan that got a friendly roll with 4:35 left made it 32-16 and put the game away.
Annala, Scheithauer and Tlusty scored four points apiece for the Redmen. Addison Gumz and Blomberg each added a bucket and Tahlia Scheithauer sank a late free throw.
Niemi led Rib Lake with seven rebounds and added two assists. Josie Scheithauer had six boards. Annala had four steals. Addison and Isabelle Gumz and Blomberg had three rebounds each.
Zimmerman led all scorers with 15 points and she had 10 rebounds. Kibbel added 10 points for Columbus Catholic, who improved to 11-8 at the time.
Athens 58, Rib Lake 35
On Thursday, Athens improved to 17-1 overall and tied Phillips atop the Marawood North at 10-1, but the Blue Jays got a battle from the visiting Lady Redmen, who again weren’t out of it until Athens pulled away in the last six minutes.
Ultimately, Athens was simply too strong in the paint, just as it was in a 7117 rout over Rib Lake back on Dec. 6. This game, however, was much closer.
Rib Lake showed it was ready to battle, getting a 3-pointer from Annala, a Josie Scheithauer basket and Annala steal and score in the first three minutes to stay within 8-7. Annala, who scored a career-high 16 points, scored off an Addison Gumz assist and added a 3-pointer following a an offensive board from Niemi to keep Rib Lake within 19-12.
Athens led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Rib Lake cut into that lead late, getting free throws from Scheithauer, an assist from Scheithauer on a bucket by Annala and free throws from Madison Grzanna and Scheithauer to make it 3222 at the break.
Gumz assisted Scheithauer on the first bucket of the second half to pull Rib Lake within eight for a moment. The deficit hung around the 10-12 mark for much of the half. Scheithauer’s 3 got Rib Lake within 42-32 with 7:25 left, but a threepoint play by Athens’ Sophia Coker with 5:53 left, started to signal the end of the upset hopes. Coker had three more points and Celina Ellenbecker hit the dagger, a 3-pointer with just under three minutes to go that opened up a 52-35 advantage.
Coker was a force in the paint for the Jays, scoring 26 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Addison Lavicka added 12 points for Athens.
Rib Lake got 14 points from Scheithauer, four from Grzanna and a free throw from Blomberg. Niemi grabbed five rebounds and Gumz had four. Gumz had four assists, Scheithauer had three and Niemi added two. Annala had two steals.
Rib Lake did have 26 turnovers, but also had moments where it was able to pass around, over and through Athens’ 1-3-1 zone to get good looks and hit them. Treffinger said the key was patience and using pass or pump fakes to get defenders going one way and then being able to move the ball away from them.
The big advantage for Athens was in rebounding. The Blue Jays outrebounded Rib Lake 40-20 with 26 of those boards coming on the offensive end.
