RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL - Defense gets it done for Redmen in two lopsided wins
RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL
The schedule offered chances for Rib Lake to take care of business at home against overmatched opponents and Redmen did just that and, in the process, have now tripled their win total from a year ago.
On Tuesday, the Lady Redmen had no trouble with Tomahawk in a 56-23 blowout victory, easily avenging a four-point loss to the Hatchets from a year ago.
Rib Lake held its second straight opponent to less than 25 points, which helped cover for an offense that ran in spurts.
The win put Rib Lake at 9-14 overall, a sharp improvement over last year’s 3-21 campaign. The regular season ends tonight, Thursday, when the Redmen will see what they can get done against Marawood North champion Phillips, who has absolutely dominated its opponents in the second half of the season.
Domination could be used to describe Tuesday’s effort, especially in the first half. The Hatchets (7-16) hung in for a bit, trailing 11-7 when Emma Tlusty came off the bench and gave the Redmen a spark with a rebound bucket, an assist off a Tomahawk turnover to Josie Scheithauer and another bucket at the 7:45 mark. Before that score, Avery Niemi knocked down her second shot of the night. Madilyn Blomberg gladly took an opening on the baseline and scored and Tlusty assisted on a Kiana Dallmann hoop that made it 24-7. Rib Lake got the last seven points of the half on a Niemi score, two free throws from Tessa Weik, a Tahlia Scheithauer backcourt steal and score and a free throw from Weik to lead 31-11 at the half.
Niemi assisted on a Josie Scheithauer basket to start the second half, but then the offense went cold for eight minutes. The Hatchets chopped at the lead somewhat in that time, getting within 33-19, but another rebound basket by Blomberg finally took the lid off the basket and the offense started clicking again with several scores set up by nice passes. Tlusty got a steal and an assist to Dallmann, then Dallmann hit a 3-pointer. Tlusty took a defensive rebound end-to-end and found Dallmann again. Niemi had a nice assist to Weik in the post, Josie Scheithauer scored off a Tlusty assist and Josie Scheithauer dumped a pass into Weik for a score in the post.
Dallmann and Weik led a balanced scoring attack with nine points apiece. Josie Scheithauer scored eight, Addison Gumz and Niemi scored seven points each and Tlusty and Blomberg added six each. Tahlia Scheithauer and Madison Grzanna each added a basket.
Khianna Vacho scored nine points to lead Tomahawk.
Rib Lake is looking forward to its WIAA Division 5 regional opener Tuesday. The ninth-seeded Redmen will visit eighthseeded Three Lakes-Phelps (8-14) with the winner taking their shot at the sectional half-bracket’s top seed, Stevens Point Pacelli (22-1).
“I think heading into the tournament, like I said from the very beginning, I don’t think this is a team you’re going to want to underestimate just because we haven’t shot the ball well, but I’ve seen us shoot the ball well,” Rib Lake head coach Austin Edwards said Monday. “Obviously we’re going to see some better competition in the tournament, but the nine-seed is exactly where we wanted to be. We had that goal set out probably in December. We lost to this team, we lost to that team, so we said we’re probably not going to get up to this seed, but if we can find a way to sneak into that eight/nine game, we don’t shy away from that. We want that opportunity. We’re excited for sure.”
Rib Lake 66, Mellen 24
At the start of the year, Edwards wanted the Redmen to build around defense and the work they’ve put into that side of the game was evident Monday in a 66-24 rout of Mellen.
The Granite Diggers were short-handed due to illness, but the Redmen suffocated the roster that did make the trip to Rib Lake. Their half-court man-to-man held Mellen to just two field goals and gave the Granite Diggers few uncontested looks in the first half as Rib Lake built a 29-13 lead.
In the second half, Rib Lake turned up the heat with full-court trapping that forced numerous turnovers and helped get the offense going as well. Mellen finished with 34 turnovers and was just seven of 28 from the field.
“We’ve been working on different variations of defense,” Edwards said. “It’s something we preach. All year, for the most part, we have been pretty sound at defense. We get a lot of steals per game. It doesn’t show up on the scoreboard because we have a hard time making shots sometimes, but the foundation for good defense has been there. Tonight the shots fell.”
The Redmen missed a handful of layups early and had some outside shots go in and out in the first half. But with the defense working well, they were able to pull comfortably ahead. Josie Scheithauer sank an early 3, Tlusty scored off a steal as did Josie Scheithauer to make it 14-3. Gumz buried a right-corner 3 and added another hoop, then Blomberg stuck the first of her two 3s for a 22-5 lead.
Blomberg scored 10 points, continuing her recent offensive uptick.
“I’ve seen her in practice where she’s so frustrated with herself just ready to give up shooting because nothing is going in,” Edwards said. “Then it just seems like every time she steps in, she’s just a gamer. She gets in the game and she knocks down everything she takes. The last three, four games she’s made multiple 3s. If she does that she’s going to be a great player for us, not just in the playoffs but for years to come. I’m really proud of her.”
Mellen followed that with its only makes of the half, 3s from Ellie Peters and Jordyn Majeski.
The second-half pressure sparked a 25-2 run that put the game away, turning a 34-17 lead into a 59-19 rout. It included a personal seven-point run by Tlusty, who scored nine of her 11 points in the half.
“Emma’s spunky, she’s quick,” Edwards said. “She knows how to crossover. She’s one of our better ball handlers. She’s one of our better defenders. We have her at the point on our press and on our zone defense. She’s learning the position well. She gets steals. She’s so quick. If we can get her the ball out in front in transition, it’s going to be a layup on the other end.”
Josie Scheithauer led all scorers with 15 points, including two 3s. Gumz also hit double figures with 11 and Weik just missed with nine. Dallmann and Grzanna had five points each. Weik pulled down 14 rebounds, while Blomberg had five. Josie Scheithauer had seven steals, Weik had five and Tahlia Scheithauer had four.
Mellen dropped to 12-10 overall and was led by Majeski’s seven points.
Stratford 41, Rib Lake 33
Freshman Carly Pankratz scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the second half, including a baseline jumper with 1:42 left that helped visiting Stratford salt away a 41-33 win over the Redmen Thursday in the last Marawood crossover of the year.
Pankratz’s jumper opened up a 36-30 lead for the Tigers and ended a possession where the Tigers drained about 30 seconds off the clock. The six-point deficit sped Rib Lake up offensively and a turnover and two 3-point misses allowed the Tigers to put it out of reach at the free throw line.
Stratford led by eight on a few occasions very early and led by nine in the last half-minute, otherwise the game was close throughout.
The first half featured moments of excellent execution by both teams in their half-court offenses. Stratford was sharp off the bat and led 8-0, 10-2 and 12-4.
Gumz alertly took an open lane to the basket from the left side, then Niemi found Gumz cutting through the lane for another hoop that made it 12-8.
Niemi got open looks at two 3-pointers and hit both, while Josie Scheithauer drilled an open look from the 3-point line as well. Tlusty got a steal and hit Dallmann with a perfect pass, leading to a threepoint play that made it 22-20 with 2:55 left and Niemi tied it at 22-22 going into halftime by banking in a long jumper.
The Redmen, however, never quite pushed themselves into the lead, mainly because they made just two of 16 field goal tries in the second half. Laney Pankratz had an impact for Stratford early in the second half, turning three steals into four points as Stratford surged ahead 2822. With both offenses stalled, Rib Lake worked its way back into it with some free throws, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 29-28 on a Dallmann free throw with 7:19 left. Tria Tubbs answered by putting back her own miss. Carly Pankratz’s free throws with 4:20 left put the Tigers up 33-29. Tlusty hit a free throw to get Rib Lake within 34-30 with 2:09 to go, just before Carly Pankratz hit her big 12-foot jumper.
Niemi had a strong offensive night for Rib Lake with 13 points, plus she led Rib Lake with eight rebounds. Gumz had eight points and six rebounds, Josie Scheithauer had five points and Dallmann scored four. Tlusty, Weik and Tahlia Scheithauer each added a point. Weik had five rebounds. Blomberg, Niemi, Josie Scheithauer and Gumz had two assists each.
Stratford, who improved to 13-10 overall and 10-5 in Marawood play, got 11 points and 12 rebounds from Tubbs and nine points from Ashley Hollatz.
