The Div. 2 Mosinee sectional
The seeding for this half of the sectional bracket came out as expected. A 51-42 win by Rice Lake over Lakeland way back on Dec. 10, not to mention the Warriors’ 18-5 overall record, made them the favorite for the top seed.
But, Lakeland and Mosinee, the top two teams in the Great Northern Conference, can’t be taken lightly.
Third-seeded Mosinee served notice that it intends to be a factor by knocking off visiting Rice Lake 57-50 Monday, the day after the seeding was set. The Indians (16-6, 9-2 GNC) have also pushed Lakeland twice this season, falling by three points in both of the teams’ conference meetings.
Lakeland (20-4, 12-0 GNC) remains led by senior scoring machine Kristina Ouimette. One of five finalists for the state’s 2025 Ms. Basketball Award and a UWGreen Bay recruit, Ouimette averages 31 points and six rebounds per game. The T-Birds went unchallenged in the GNC outside of the Mosinee games and have wins over Stevens Point, Marshfield and Westosha Central. They are 10-1 against sectional teams. They lost to Division 3 power Laconia, Waunakee and West De Pere.
Rice Lake is 9-4 in the Big Rivers Conference, good for third place behind Division 1 teams Eau Claire Memorial (13-0) and Hudson (10-3), both of whom beat Rice Lake last week. The Warriors have a star of their own in 6-3 junior Adaline Sheplee, who has several NCAA Division I offers. She averages more than 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game. What makes them tough is they have a second go-to player as well in 6-2 sophomore Addison Schmidt, who brings inside toughness while averaging more than 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The Warriors are 7-2 against sectional teams. They lost 54-53 to Menomonie back on Dec. 20.
Mosinee is led by physical and athletic 5-6 junior guard Taeyln Jirschele, who pours in about 19 points per game. She has already committed to play softball down the road for the Northwestern Wildcats. The Indians have won six straight games.
Fourth-seeded Menomonie (11-12, 6-7 BRC) had a sixgame winning streak mid-season but has now lost seven of nine. Fifth-seeded Rhinelander (13-10, 7-4 GNC) has been in a tailspin ever since it lost sophomore superstar Aubryn Clark to a back injury in mid-January. Sixthseeded Medford (12-11, 6-5 GNC) is playing well, having won five straight and 10 of 13 behind the high-scoring sophomore due of Taylor Klingbeil and Kayla Baumgartner. Medford rallied from a big deficit and gave Rice Lake a 69-62 scare on Dec. 17.
The other side of the sectional is not strong. One-seed Shawano (17-5, 9-2 Bay) is solid, led by outstanding 6-2 junior Leah Nordin, who has committed to Wisconsin. The Hawks lost at home to Lakeland 58-44 on Tuesday and lost to Mosinee early in the year. Two-seed Marinette (19-4) is the North Eastern Conference champion at 15-2 and is the only other team on that side above .500.
The Owen-Withee Blackhawks made a run to the sectional final last March and they are the favorite to do it again out of the bottom half of Superior sectional.
The Eastern Cloverbelt Conference runner-up drew the one-seed and sits at 20-3 overall going into Saturday’s second-place crossover with Eau Claire Regis. Two of the team’s three losses are to conference champion and Division 4 power Neillsville. The other was a 38-35 home loss to a decent Greenwood squad on Jan. 23.
Defense remains a strength for Owen-Withee, who allows just 31.4 points per game. Offensively, the team features some nice balance with senior Kendall Weiler inside and seniors Geneva Capetillo and Elli Petersen and junior Madi Mueller on the outside. Owen-Withee is 6-0 against sectional teams.
Second-seeded South Shore (16-6, 13-4) and fourthseeded Washburn (14-8, 12-5) come out of the Northern Lights Conference. South Shore was the one-seed last year but lost to Gilman in the second round. South Shore’s new head coach this year is its one-time star Jolene Anderson, who went on to stardom for the Wisconsin Badgers and played a year in the WNBA. The Cardinals lost early in the year to Mellen, a team Rib Lake destroyed in January. Washburn doesn’t have any real eye-popping wins on its résumé but has done well in conference play.
Third-seeded Winter (14-8, 9-5) had a respectable season in the East Lakeland Conference, where the Warriors will finish third.
The Northern Lights and East Lakeland conferences, which fill much of this sectional aren’t overly deep leagues, and local five- and six-seeds Gilman (11-11, 6-8) and Rib Lake (12-10, 9-6) certainly come into the tournament confident they are capable of making runs.
Rib Lake beat Gilman 57-45 on Jan. 2 and will finish second in the Marawood North behind perennial champion Phillips. The Redmen feature an experienced junior-laden squad that hopes to rediscover the offensive success they had early in the season. The Pirates, meanwhile, look to repeat their regional championship from a year ago. They gave Owen-Withee a good push in a 56-48 loss on Jan. 17 and were right with New Auburn in a 45-38 loss on Nov. 26.
The top half of the sectional bracket has Solon Springs as the one-seed. The Eagles won their first-ever Northern Lights (formerly Indianhead) title with a 17-0 mark. They are 18-3 overall but started the year with a 51-point loss to Shell Lake. Two-seed Webster (20-2) is ranked ninth this week in D5 and sits in a first-place tie in the competitive Lakeland West with Shell Lake at 14-2. New Auburn (212) is the third seed. At 14-1, the Trojans can still catch catch fourth-seeded Clayton (19-3, 14-0) for the East Lakeland title. From the West Lakeland, fifth-seeded Siren (17-5, 11-5) has a 63-43 win over Winter to its credit.
