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Raiders can’t keep up with Lakeland’s offensive firepower

Raiders can’t keep up with  Lakeland’s offensive firepower Raiders can’t keep up with  Lakeland’s offensive firepower

D2 REGIONAL SEMIFINAL: LAKELAND 72, MEDFORD 41

The Medford Raiders had their moments of offensive execution in Friday’s WIAA Division 2 girls basketball regional semifinal, but they simply didn’t possess the firepower needed to hang with second-seeded Lakeland, who cruised to a 72-41 victory and went on to win the regional championship on Saturday.

Among the keys for Medford’s shorthanded squad to be able to hang around were taking care of the ball, getting out on Lakeland’s shooters and being patient on offense in order to get good looks. The ball handling wasn’t bad for much of the game, especially against Lakeland’s full-court pressure, and the Raiders got their fair share of good looks. Some went down, others did not.

But Lakeland’s dynamic sister duo of Julianna and Kristina Ouimette teamed up to score 45 of Lakeland’s points and drill 10 3-pointers, leading their team to a 22-point halftime lead that only got larger in the second half.

Lakeland (18-8) beat Rhinelander 50-35 the following night to advance to a sectional semifinal tonight, Thursday, at top-seeded Mosinee (25-1). The seventhseeded Raiders finished 8-16.

“I thought when we did run our offense, we got some good looks at the basket,” Medford head coach Greg Klapatauskas said. “I didn’t think their press really bothered us much. They’re just a really good team. They didn’t miss and we just couldn’t keep scoring with them and you have to give them credit for that. We needed them to miss some shots, make our shots and make them feel a little bit of pressure. They played well. Give them credit.”

Lakeland jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead, but Autumn Krause sandwiched two 3s around a Rynn Ruesch finish on a well-executed press break to pull the Raiders within 16-11. But after a Raider turnover, Kristina Ouimette knocked down a 3-ball. The Raiders broke down Lakeland’s zone, getting a short corner pass from Sophie Brost to Katie Brehm for a bucket but, again, Lakeland was able to counter by getting scores from Joeli Koehler and Kristina Ouimette.

Brehm got her second bucket of the night to make it 23-15, but Kristina Ouimette drilled another 3 and Julianna Ouimette scored off a steal to open up a double-digit lead and spark a six-minute run that created too much distance for Medford to stay in contact.

Lakeland led 42-20 at the half with Kristina Ouimette scoring 17 of those points and Julianna Ouimette adding 16. Kristina only scored one more point, but Julianna added 11 more in the second half and finished with seven 3s and a game-high 27 points. Rynn Ruesch got the first score of the second half on an offensive putback, but Lakeland then went on a 13-3 run to open up a 55-25 lead. Krause hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points to lead the Raiders. She finished with 91 made 3s in her three-year varsity career, giving her the new school record. She broke the year-old record of 83 held by 2021 graduate Marissa Fronk. Brehm added 12 points.

Ruesch scored six, Laurissa Klapatauskas scored four late points, Hope Faude hit a second-half 3 and Brooke Rudolph got an offensive putback off a missed free throw late in the first half.

Medford hung right with Lakeland in rebounding as the T-Birds had a 34-33 edge with only eight coming on the offensive end. Klapatauskas had eight boards, Ruesch had six and Brehm and Krause had five apiece. Klapatauskas had three steals on the defensive end and Rudolph and Brehm had two apiece. Ruesch and Krause dished out three assists apiece while Breanna Kraemer had two.

Medford shot 32.1% from the field (17 of 53), while Lakeland hit 50% of its shots (29 of 58), including 13 of 34 from 3-point range. Medford did have 22 turnovers but not many were against Lakeland’s fullor half-court pressure. Lakeland turned the ball over 16 times.

“I felt our seniors played really hard,” Greg Klapatauskas said. “They played under control but yet were aggressive with the ball. They took care of the ball. Offensively we got a lot of good looks. We broke their press and we were patient. The shots didn’t fall like we needed them to.”

In all, seven seniors participated in their last basketball games as Raiders –– Krause, Ruesch, Brehm, Klapatauskas, Brost, Lindsey Wildberg and the injured Lydia Pernsteiner. Klapatauskas said there is good core to build around next year, especially if junior guard Bryn Fronk successfully recovers from her mid-season knee injury.

“For sure we have some talent,” Greg Klapatauskas said. “Hopefully they’ll work hard in the off-season. We have to work on ball handling across the board. We have a lot of girls who got some quality minutes this year and we have girls waiting in the wings to come up. I’m excited going forward.”


Medford’s Autumn Krause looks to get a shot up over Lakeland’s Saylor Timmerman and Kristina Ouimette during the second half of Friday’s season-ending loss to the T-Birds. Krause led Medford with 14 points and hit four 3-pointers to finish with 91 for her career.KARLA KLAPATAUSKAS PHOTOKARLA KLAPATAUSKAS PHOTO
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