Hodags speed up game, pull away late; girls beat Hatchets
MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL
A game the Medford Raiders looked capable of winning Tuesday changed quickly midway through the second half when a series of fouls and a timely shift in defensive strategy pushed the visiting Rhinelander Hodags to a 63-52 win.
The Hodags changed the pace of the game with more aggressive full-court zone pressure in the second half, particularly when Medford had to sit its primary ball handler Bryn Fronk for a stretch after she picked up three fouls in 20 seconds, putting her at four for the game. Up to that point, Medford had showed some of its best patience of the year on offense, was taking solid care of the basketball and Brooke Rudolph was starting to take over the game inside with nine points in the half, the last of which came on a nifty reverse layup with 11:25 left that put Medford up 30-27.
In fact, Medford made 20 of 37 twopoint shots and scored 40 of its 52 points in the paint.
But then the Hodags started creating turnovers, the pace of the game quickened and Rhinelander standout Ava Lamers took over, scoring 23 of her gamehigh 30 points in the second half. When she hit 25 points for the game, she hit the 1,000-point mark for her career with the Hodags, who scored 15 of their secondhalf points off Medford turnovers.
Rudolph scored a career-high 26 points for the Raiders with 20 of those points coming in the second half.
The point differential was never higher than four for either team in a tight first half that ended with Rhinelander leading 23-21. Rudolph converted a threepoint play to start the second half, but Lamers answered with a score off a turnover. The Hodags led 25-24 when Fronk went to the bench with 14:20 left, but the Raiders responded, getting Rudolph in scoring position down low and she took advantage three times before the Hodags started creating turnovers and transition baskets.
Dawsyn Barkus tied the game at 3030 with a 3-pointer, then Lamers scored eight points in a run that put the Hodags up 42-35. A Rudolph 3-pointer got Medford within 46-40, but Lamers scored, Leah Jamison hit two free throws and then Lamers got her milestone basket on a transition layup with 4:21 left, making it 52-40. Medford got no closer than nine the rest of the way and had four key players foul out before the final buzzer.
Fronk finished with 15 points before picking up her fifth foul with 3:56 left. Masaeda Krug scored five points, Rylee Hraby hit a first-half 3-pointer, Toryn Rau returned to the lineup after missing four games and got a second-half hoop and Rachel Wesle added a first-half free throw. Rudolph completed a doubledouble with 11 rebounds, Fronk had seven and Pilgrim grabbed five. Krug led Medford with four assists, while Madison Clarkson had three. Krug also had a team-high three steals.
Turnovers were even at 14 apiece. The Hodags just did a better job of capitalizing. Medford had a 40-36 edge in rebounding. Medford’s overall shooting percentage unfortunately dropped to 33.8% due to making only two of 28 attempts.
Rhinelander made 17 of 30 free throws, while Medford was six of 13 from the line. The Hodags, who improved to 6-4 in the Great Northern Conference and 9-12 overall, got 10 points from Lily Treder in their win and eight apiece from Morgan Van Zile and Tori Riopel.
Medford, now 3-7 in the GNC and 5-14 overall, will remain busy in the final week and a half of the regular season. The Raiders have picked up a non-conference game at Edgar tonight, Thursday, that starts at 7:15 p.m., then it’s off to Eagle River Friday to try to complete a season sweep of Northland Pines. That game has been bumped up to 6:30 p.m. with no JV game.
Medford travels to Chippewa Falls on Tuesday, will make up a game at Crandon Feb. 16 and finishes at Mosinee Feb. 17.
Central 41, Medford 31
Another game was there for Medford to take on Saturday, but some impatience on offense led to 23.4% shooting from the field and the Raiders couldn’t get over the hump in a 41-31 loss to La Crosse Central.
Medford led the Riverhawks for much of the first half and were still within five at 26-21 with less than 12 minutes to play, but a key 7-0 spurt put Central on top by 10 and with the Raiders unable to find a shooting rhythm, that was too much for Medford to overcome.
“The kids play hard and physical,” Medford head coach Chad Fronk said. “We just have to make some shots, score the ball.”
Medford handled the ball relatively well. The Raiders had 17 turnovers, Central had 21. The Riverhawks didn’t shoot the ball well either, making 15 of 46 shots (32.6%), with no made 3-pointers.
But the Riverhawks controlled the boards, outrebounding Medford 43-29 and earning 14 second-chance points, compared to four for Medford and they hit 11 of 15 free throws compared to Medford’s six of 14. They also had a difference maker in senior Brittney Mislivecek, who had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double while helping her team improve to 9-12.
Down 19-15 at the half, Medford got an opening bucket from Breanna Kraemer in the second half to get within two and Rudolph got a putback to answer a Mislivecek hoop to make it 21-19. Mislivecek converted a three-point play, but some short-corner action by Medford got Rudolph a hoop off a Kraemer assist to make it 24-21. That’s when the Raiders went on a prolonged drought, allowing Central to open up a 31-21 lead.
Fronk scored 11 points and had six rebounds and four steals. Rudolph had nine points and nine rebounds. Kraemer had five points and seven rebounds. Clarkson sank a late 3-pointer to pull Medford within 39-31, Hraby had a bucket and Pilgrim hit a second-half free throw. Medford was three of 23 from 3-point range and hit two of them back-to-back with Fronk and Clarkson late.
Medford 55, Tomahawk 37
The Raiders broke this season’s eightgame losing streak and extended their 23-year winning streak over Tomahawk on Friday with a 55-37 win.
For the most part, Medford had complete command of the game, though the Hatchets made a big run at the end of the first half, cutting a 21-point deficit to 13 by halftime. Medford slowly but surely extended its lead again through the second half to get a much-needed win.
The Raiders turned 25 Hatchet turnovers into 22 points and knocked down eight 3-point shots. They were led by Rudolph, who made nine of 21 shots from the field to score 22 points, plus she added seven rebounds and four steals.
Chad Fronk said this was a game he hoped to get plenty of playing time for his bench, but the Hatchets foiled that plan temporarily with their big run.
Medford trailed 4-3 early but took the lead for good with an 11-0 run that included a three-point play from Kraemer, Bryn Fronk and Krug trading assists to each other for baskets and a Rudolph score off a Pilgrim steal.
Krug sank a 3 and Kraemer banked in her first career 3-point attempt from the top of the key to help Medford extend its lead to 28-7 with less than three minutes left in the half. The Hatchets then showed life with a 3-pointer from Khianna Vacho, an inside score from Caylie Swan and then, after Rudolph hit a 3-pointer for Medford, triples by Claire Albert and Vacho got Tomahawk within 31-18 at the break. An offensive putback by Freya Alberg got Tomahawk even closer at 3120 to start the second half.
But that’s where the Raiders decided they’d had enough and regained control. Rudolph hit a 3 and then, after her shot inside got blocked, she got a backcourt steal and scored. Pilgrim drained a 3-ball and just like that, the lead was back to 19 at 39-20. Rudolph hit another 3, Wesle scored inside, Fronk scored following a steal and Ella Daniels got an offensive putback. Rylee Hraby’s 3-pointer from the left corner put it away at 51-28.
Pilgrim scored seven points and had two assists. Fronk had six points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and a blocked shot. Kraemer finished with six points and four rebounds. Krug had five points and three rebounds. Rylee Hraby grabbed four rebounds to go with her three points. Daniels, Laney Hraby and Wesle had a bucket apiece.
GREAT NORTHERN CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS Conf. Overall W L W L Lakeland 10 0 15 6 Mosinee 9 2 10 9 Antigo 6 4 10 11 Rhinelander 6 4 9 12 Medford 3 7 5 14
Northland Pines 2 7 2 15 Tomahawk 0 11 5 16
Feb. 2: Stratford 52, Northland Pines 23. Feb. 3: Medford 55, Tomahawk 37; Lakeland 81, Antigo 28; Mosinee 67, Rhinelander 56.
Feb. 4: La Crosse Central 41, Medford 31. Feb. 6: Tomahawk 58, Tri-County 24. Feb. 7: Rhinelander 63, Medford 52; Mosinee 72, Northland Pines 35; Lakeland 84, Tomahawk 31; Three Lakes 58, Antigo 55. Feb. 9: Medford at Edgar. Feb. 10: Medford at Northland Pines, Rhinelander at Lakeland, Antigo at Tomahawk.
Feb. 13: Mosinee at Freedom, Seymour at Antigo. Feb. 14: Medford at Chippewa Falls, Stevens Point at Rhinelander, Rib Lake at Tomahawk.
Medford’s current varsity basketball teams take a photo with players and coaches from the 2002 and 2003 WIAA Division 2 state-qualifying teams, who returned to Raider Hall Saturday for a 20-year reunion. Those who attended included head coach Paul Woletz and his daughters Katie Woletz and Kelli Bell, Liz Schneider, Britney (Deml) Lindau, Erin (Anderson) Pisca, Amanda (Zenner) Beck, Becky Pepper, Roxanne (Rindt) Baumann, Rachel (Rindt) Nolechek, Amanda (Jochimsen) Lange, Kayla (Sarver) Laher, Heather Axtman, coaches Mike Platt, Toby Anderson and Bryce Kelley and manager Mike Retterath.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
Paul Woletz and Becky Pepper shared memories with the crowd during the recognition program for the 2002 and 2003 state girls basketball teams Saturday.
