MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL - Raiders blow out Mosinee for season’s most impressive win

MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Medford Raiders jumped out to an 11-0 lead, withstood a hard charge from Mosinee early in the second half and then pulled away for a surprisingly-dominant 60-40 win Friday on the Indians’ home floor.

Mosinee won the first meeting of the season between Great Northern Conference rivals 62-34 on Dec. 8, but the Indians couldn’t buy a basket at times in Friday’s rematch while Medford shot a season-high 47.2% from the field (25 of 53). Both teams had 22 turnovers, but when the Raiders beat Mosinee’s press and took care of the basketball, they found open teammates in good scoring position and the Raiders knocked those shots down.

Medford improved to 4-4 in the GNC and 9-11 overall and now sits just one-half game behind 4-3 Mosinee for third place in the conference standings.

As for the team’s pre-season goal of making sure the team takes steps forward from a year ago, Mosinee became the sixth opponent the Raiders did not beat last year but have defeated this year. Mosinee had beaten Medford five straight times.

Freshman Taylor Klingbeil scored a season-high 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds, senior Breanna Kraemer had eight points and nine rebounds to just miss a double-double and Kayla Baumgartner added 11 points in the win.

Mosinee (12-6 overall) shot just 22.9% from the field (16 of 70) and made just one of 19 3-point attempts.

Medford got Mosinee on its heels with its fast offensive start. Baumgartner scored the game’s first basket, which was followed by Klingbeil’s driving score and Rylee Hraby’s steal and bank shot, forcing a Mosinee timeout just 2:29 in. After a defensive stop, Medford got two free throws from Baumgartner and Madison Clarkson sank a transition 3 before Mosinee finally got on the board on Bridget Frye’s inside score 4:20 into the game.

Leading 15-7, Medford surged to a 16-point lead on Rylee Hraby’s 3, which came off an Aliyah Pilgrim assist after Pilgrim had her initial shot blocked. Klingbeil scored off a baseline inbound play. Then the Raiders beat Mosinee down the floor after Toryn Rau’s defensive rebound, getting a Kraemer hoop off a Hraby assist. After Britt Fitzgerald scored for Mosinee, Klingbeil got open on a backdoor cut and Kraemer found her, for a three-point play that made it 25-9 with 4:40 left in the half.

Toryn Rau knocked down an open 15foot jumper that made it 29-15 before the Raiders settled for a 29-17 halftime lead.

It was 33-21 early in the second half when Mosinee made its push, getting a basket from Daisy Spink, its only 3 of the game from Taelyn Jirschele and an offensive putback from Kaitlyn Selle to get within 33-28 with 15:50 left.

But Medford put together a big-time counterpunch, getting a stickback from Klingbeil, a backdoor slip from Kraemer, who scored off Rau’s pass, a tightlycontested score from Baumgartner off a baseline inbound, a Baumgartner 3 and Hraby’s steal and score that opened up a 44-28 lead with 11:40 to go.

Pilgrim delivered the knockout punch, hitting nothing but net on a 3-point shot after a Baumgartner steal and miss that was rebounded by Hraby. Pilgrim’s triple made it 52-30 with 6:15 to play.

Hraby had nine points, six steals, three assists and three rebounds in the win. Pilgrim had eight points and five rebounds while hopefully rediscovering her early-season shooting touch. Clarkson had three points and two assists. Laney Hraby had the game’s final basket and had six rebounds, including three on the offensive end. Rau had a hoop, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Defensively, Kraemer blocked five shots.

Jirschele led Mosinee with nine points, but the team’s sophomore leading scorer at more than 19 points per game was just three of 18 from the field. Addyson Henrich added eight points.

Mosinee had a 45-39 advantage in rebounding and had 25 offensive boards, but the Indians only turned those into 10 second-chance points. Medford had 22 points off turnovers and a surprising 17-3 edge in transition points.

Medford is off until Monday when it visits second-place Rhinelander at 7:15 p.m. in the make-up date of a Jan. 12 postponement. The Raiders host Antigo Tuesday before heading to Northland Pines on Feb. 9.