Clear Lake shows Loyal why it’s second-ranked and unbeaten

The Loyal girls basketball team had no doubts heading into the March 5 WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal game that Clear Lake was worthy of its #2 ranking in the state. The 46-29 loss that took place at Eau Claire Memorial was further proof of what the Greyhounds suspected.

Even though head coach Mike Rueth said his team played its usual attacking style, Clear Lake was just too athletic and long for it to work this time. Throughout the season, Loyal was able to run its motion offense for strong drives for open shots or fouls and free throws, but against the Warriors, many of those attacks ended with Clear Lake blocked shots or solid defense against drives. Loyal was held to just 10 points in the first half and ended the game shooting 24 percent from the field.

Rueth said it was evident that Clear Lake had scouted Loyal several times during the season in anticipation of an eventual postseason game. Most importantly, the Warriors did not leave Loyal point guard and leading scorer Remi Geiger unguarded at any time as they employed an effective 1-3-1 defense to take away her dribble/drive abilities.

“They made sure they had someone around Remi all the time,” Rueth said. “When someone released her, someone was always there to pick her up.”

Geiger scored 34 points in the Greyhounds’ regional championship game win at Prairie Farm, but scored only 11 against Clear Lake.

The Warriors’ team has several players who also led the Clear Lake volleyball team to an undefeated state title last fall, an indication of how athletic and talented they are.

“This team was very long and athletic and they’re strong,” Rueth said. “They’re the real deal.”

It didn’t take long for Loyal to find that out at Eau Claire. The Warriors jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of play as Loyal committed two early turnovers and its first shots wouldn’t drop. Geiger finally got Loyal on the board with a shot in the paint, but Clear Lake seniors Madison Zimmer and Rayne Vangness followed with buckets to stake the Warriors to a 14-2 lead.

Clear Lake challenged every shot, and blocked several. Rueth said he was pleased with the way his players attacked the basket, but Clear Lake’s length and athleticism allowed it to alter shots and get hands on others without fouling.

Loyal got the lead back into single digits on a Savannah Schley 3-pointer from the corner with 7:06 to go in the half, and had a chance to cut it back further when Schley’s next 3-point attempt rattled in and out of the cylinder. Clear Lake then mounted a 7-0 run to push the lead to 24-8, and Zimmer’s bucket just before the end of the half made it a 30-10 game at the break. Loyal hit only three of its 15 shots from the field in the half and was 1-5 on 3-pointers.

Kayla Bremmer started the second half with a free throw and Schley popped a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 30-14. Clear Lake continued to deny Geiger’s penetration attempts, and its offense found openings. Maddie Rosen’s two free throws with 7:54 left gave the Warriors their biggest lead of the game at 40-17.

Geiger went on a 7-point scoring streak from there, hitting a step-back 3-pointer, scoring on a baseline runner and then dropping in two free throws. That cut the gap back to 40-24, but with only 5:17 left on the clock.

Rueth said he thought his team was well-prepared to play Clear Lake, although the Warriors’ press caused some problems early.

Rueth said the outcome was a matter of Clear Lake just being too good of a team for Loyal’s usual plan to work.

“I felt we were very prepared going into the game,” he said. “I liked the way we attacked. We just didn’t get the foul shots this time.”

Loyal’s season ended with a 20-6 overall record. The season included a second-place finish in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference, which satisfied many players’ goals of playing in the first/second place league crossover games.

Another goal many players mentioned on their early-season lists was to play again at the Resch Center

DEAN LESAR/STAFF PHOTO

DEAN LESAR/STAFF PHOTO in Green Bay, as the Greyhounds did in 2017 when they brought home the girls basketball program’s only state title.

“I didn’t know if that was a goal we could reach or not,” Rueth said.”We knew the one team we would have to get around was Clear Lake, and we didn’t do it.”

The Clear Lake game was the end of the high school basketball line for seniors Geiger, Bailey Bravener and Keralin Genteman. Geiger was the ECC player of the year, reached the 1,000-point total early in the season, and will be heading to the state tournament later this week to participate in the Division 5 3-point challenge for the second straight season.

Bravener was a player who saw mostly junior varsity time as a junior, but improved so much this year that she earned ECC honorable mention all-conference honors.

“That’s how far she came from last year to this year,” Rueth said.

Rueth said the three seniors, as well as junior starters Schley, Kayla Bremmer and Katlyn Lindner, all were integral to the team’s rise this year.

“There’s no doubt our leadership this year was outstanding,” the coach said.

DEAN LESAR/ STAFF PHOTOS