Gamoke, team quickness will be the challenges at Onalaska

WIAA DIV. 2 SECTIONAL PREVIEW

The WIAA Division 2 girls basketball regional bracket had an anybody-canwin- it feel and the fourth-seeded Medford Raiders proved it by being the one emerging as the champions from the sixteam field.

The limited head-to-head results among the four remaining sectional teams suggest a similar situation this weekend, though the third-seeded Raiders again won’t be the team most observers expect to move on to the state tournament, which will be held either Feb. 25, 26 or 27 in La Crosse or Oshkosh.

“Being the three-seed is almost perfect for us,” Medford head coach Greg Klapatauskas said Monday. “Nobody expects us to win, so let’s just go in, have fun, all the pressure’s on them. We’ve got nothing to lose. I’m actually OK being the 3-seed from that aspect. Hopefully we can keep the kids with that same attitude.”

The 13-8 Raiders, winners of four straight closely-contested games, will make the program’s first sectional appearance since 2011 tonight, Thursday, when they visit second-seeded Onalaska in a 7 p.m. semifinal. At the same time, fourth-seeded Somerset is at top-seeded Rice Lake with the winners set to meet in the sectional championship game Saturday on the winner’s home court.

Medford’s last sectional appearance was not a fun one as that Raider team of 10 years ago was demolished by eventual state champion New London 71-26 in Waupaca. That kind of result isn’t expected tonight when the Raiders make the long trip south for the second consecutive post-season. But, the Raiders know they will have to play well to have a chance at upsetting the 15-3 Hilltoppers.

“They’re an athletic good team, only three losses on the year,” Klapatauskas said. “If we can grind it out, slow the game down a little bit and work the ball, it will help us. They want to get up and down the court. Three passes and a shot is pretty typical for them, so we want to get them out of that.”

One of Onalaska’s losses this season came to Rice Lake, a 66-57 decision on Jan. 7 in Rice Lake. That was just Onalaska’s third game of the season and came a little over two weeks after Medford went to Rice Lake and beat the Warriors 51-49. That loss left Rice Lake at 4-3 at the time. Since that Dec. 22 defeat, the Warriors have gone 11-4 and finished a solid 8-4 as the smallest school in the Big Rivers Conference, good for third place.

Onalaska went 7-0 in a Mississippi Valley Conference that had its 2020-21 schedule greatly altered by COVID protocols and occasional bad weather in the La Crosse area. The Hilltoppers tied Division 3 powerhouse Aquinas for the top spot in the league. The two teams, obviously, never met.

In last year’s tournament, seventhseeded Medford traveled to second-seeded and, at the time, ninth-ranked Onalaska in a regional semifinal. In a physical, defensive game, an 11-0 run that bridged the halves was the major difference in a 46-37 Hilltoppers’ win that was a 40-35 game with three minutes to go.

“We played right with them last year,” Klapatauskas said. “I’d say we’re playing better team basketball right now than we did then. We just have to come out and keep doing the little things like we have been the last couple of games. The last four games we’ve been getting better.”

The Hilltopper machine is driven by 5-6 senior guard Olivia Gamoke, who averages just under 21 points per game. According to statistics posted by WisSports. net, Gamoke has shot almost 47% from the field this year, including an impressive 44.3% from 3-point range. She has surpassed 20 points in 11 of Onalaska’s 18 games with a high of 29 in a 69-29 win over Holmen Jan. 28.

“If we leave her open, she’ll beat us,” Klapatauskas said. “We have to keep an eye on her. The rest of them are good athletes too. They’re a quick athletic team. We’re going to have to take care of the ball. They look to score off of transition and off turnovers, so we’ll have to use ball fakes and hopefully play a little bit more under control.”

Gamoke had 18 points in last year’s meeting and Molly Garrity had 12. Garrity, a 5-8 senior, averages 10 points, four rebounds and three assists per game. Both have plans to play at the collegiate level next year.

The Raiders may have an advantage inside. Juniors Rynn Ruesch and Katie Brehm have played some of their best basketball in Medford’s four-game winning streak and Laurissa Klapatauskas brings some toughness in the paint as well. Brehm had a good game in Onalaska last year with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

Besides Gamoke’s shooting, Klapatauskas said his biggest concern may be Onalaska’s quickness.

“We’re going to have to be ready for that,” he said.

Onalaska lost 77-51 on Jan. 15 to Reedsburg, ranked third in Division 2 in the final WisSports.net coaches poll. For those who enjoy playing the head-to-head game, Onalaska lost 65-59 at Menomonie on Jan. 23. Menomonie also beat Medford 59-48 and split this season with Rice Lake, winning 55-45 Dec. 10 on the Warriors’ home floor. Rice Lake returned the favor 58-48 on Jan. 21. Onalaska beat Medford’s GNC rival Rhinelander 68-59 on Jan. 26. Medford beat Rhinelander twice last week 43-41 and 59-55 in overtime and lost to the Hodags 41-38 on Jan. 12. Rice Lake swept Chippewa Falls 56-40 and 74-17 in games played Jan. 26 and 29. Medford beat Chippewa Falls 44-33 on Dec. 28. The Warriors also swept Eau Claire Memorial 51-44 and 55-53. The Old Abes beat Medford 52-38 on Jan. 26.

Warriors and Spartans

Rice Lake (15-7) carries a seven-game winning streak into tonight’s game with Somerset (15-9).

Six-foot forward Brynn Olson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging about 16 points per game and she’s been on a recent tear, scoring 25 points in playoff wins over Osceola and Ashland and 20 in the regular-season finale against River Falls. She adds 5.2 rebounds per game.

Jordan Roethel is a player to watch as well as she averages 9.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest. Grace Forsberg averages 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 rebounds per game.

In Medford’s win at Rice Lake Dec. 22, Olson had 18 points and five rebounds, Roethel had nine points and four boards and Forsberg had six points, six rebounds and three steals.

In that game, Medford trailed most of the way but always stayed within striking distance and won it with a go-ahead basket by Martha Miller with 31 seconds left.

Somerset won its regional as a three-seed, tipping fourth-seeded Altoona 57-56 in Saturday’s final. Altoona upset top-seeded New Richmond 46-45 in Friday’s semifi nal round, while Somerset took out second-seeded Baldwin-Woodville 56-48.

Somerset went 9-5 in the Middle Border Conference and finished third behind New Richmond (11-3) and Prescott (13-0).

The Spartans are a balanced team offensively, led by Taylor Paulson, a senior guard who averages about 14 points per game and is a 40% shooter from 3-point range. Three more players average 10-11 points per game. The team split its games with New Richmond and lost 76-56 to Big Rivers champion Hudson on Feb. 5.