Danielle Mann earns 2nd-team spot; two seniors get repeat mention

ALL-MARAWOOD NORTH GIRLS BASKETBALL

Rib Lake seniors Lauren Pelnis and Molly Heiser got spots on the 10-player honorable mention list for the second straight season while the play of sophomore Danielle Mann put her on the second team in the voting for the 2021-22 All-Marawood Conference North Division girls basketball team.

In her first season as a starter, Mann led Rib Lake in scoring, rebounding and steals during the team’s 6-18 season that included a 3-13 mark in Marawood Conference games. Rib Lake went 3-5 against North teams and 0-6 in crossovers with the Marawood South under head coach Wayne Mann and assistant Nancy Mann, who returned to Rib Lake’s bench after more than a decade away from it.

A new award made its debut this year as each Marawood team chose one player for its division’s All-Defensive team. Junior Kamy Annala is Rib Lake’s representative on the North squad.

Mann, who is listed at 5-8, averaged 11.5 points per game while appearing in 23 of Rib Lake’s 24 games this winter. She pulled down 7.8 rebounds and averaged 2.5 steals per game. Mann was, by far, the team’s most potent 3-point shooter, knocking down 42 of them for an average of nearly two per game.

She joins a sophomore-heavy list of all-conference honorees. Four of the five first-team choices and two of the five second-teamers are sophomores and another, Prentice second-teamer Kali Heikkinen, is a freshman demonstrating just how young the North Division was this year.

Mann had two doubles in Marawood North play this season and nearly added another in a crossover game and yet another in non-conference play. Her biggest Marawood game may have been a 20-point, 11-rebound effort in a 51-47 win at Prentice Jan. 4. She hit four of 11 3-pointers in that game and added two steals and an assist. A couple weeks before that, on Dec. 17, Mann had 15 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in a 47-43 overtime loss to Abbotsford.

Mann had 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals in Rib Lake’s strong effort in a 57-46 loss to Auburndale on Jan. 21 and she had 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 61-46 win over Owen-Withee on Jan. 31. She scored a season-high 23 points while making five of 10 3s in a 63-41 loss at Gilman on Jan. 10, had a 13-point, 13-rebound double- double in a 54-42 loss to Flambeau on Nov. 19 and had 15 points against North champion Phillips on Jan. 24.

Pelnis and Heiser continued to be hard-working, solid contributors night in and night out for the Lady Redmen.

Pelnis, a 5-4 senior, averaged 6.8 points and battled for 6.4 rebounds per game while appearing in 22 of the team’s contests. She added 2.0 steals and 1.4 assists per game. She cemented her award with a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double in Rib Lake’s 43-36 Senior Night loss to Prentice on Feb. 17. She hit double figures in the scoring column seven times. Pelnis had a 10-point, 10-rebound doubledouble with three steals and two assists in a 60-48 loss at North runner-up Athens on Dec. 7 and had 11 points and nine rebounds in the overtime loss to Abbotsford. She also played well against Auburndale with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Pelnis scored a season-high 21 points and had 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 58-40 non-conference win at Pittsville on Dec. 14, helping pick up the slack in the one game Mann was unable to play in.

Heiser, a 5-7 senior, gave Rib Lake some hard-nosed play down low while averaging 5.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 24 games as well as 0.9 steals per outing. Highlights helping her get this year’s award included an 11-point, eight-rebound outing Jan. 18 in a 68-28 North win at Chequamegon, an eight-point, sevenrebound game with two assists at Athens and a six-point, seven-rebound, two-steal effort at Abbotsford Feb. 8 in a 48-31 loss. She had seven points and nine rebounds in a close 53-46 non-conference loss at Colby on Jan. 3 and nine points and four rebounds in a 57-34 win over Tomahawk on Feb. 15.

Heiser led Rib Lake with 80 free throw attempts, making 43.

This year’s All-North first team includes unanimous picks Jada Eggebrecht and Kacy Eggebrecht, a senior and sophomore from Phillips, sophomore Sydney Falteisek of Abbotsford and sophomore Addison Lavicka of Athens. Athens sophomore Jazelle Hartwig completes the squad. Jada Eggebrecht is the North Player of the Year for the third year in a row.

Mike Eggebrecht was named Coach of the Year for the third straight winter after leading the Loggers to a perfect 16-0 Marawood Conference record, a 25-3 overall record and a run to the sectional final in Division 4 of the WIAA tournament.

Annala got the nod for the defensive team after providing Rib Lake with a dependable effort in all 24 games. The 5-5 Annala pulled down 3.4 rebounds and had 1.35 steals per game for the Redmen and contributed 4.1 points per game and made 26 of 44 free throws. She had a team-high seven rebounds in the Jan. 10 loss at Gilman, led the team with six rebounds, five steals and four assists in the 72-43 loss at Phillips on Jan. 24 and led the team with 14 points while adding six rebounds, two steals and two assists in the win at Chequamegon.