RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL - Scheithauer drops 30 on Pines in win; Athens remains tough matchup

RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL

Behind a career-high 30 points from senior Josie Scheithauer, the Rib Lake girls basketball team ended a seasonopening road swing at 2-2 Tuesday with a 56-37 non-conference win at Northland Pines.

Other than being down 1-0, Rib Lake never trailed in the contest and always felt like it was in control. But, some missed opportunities in the paint as the second half progressed, nine-for-27 free throw shooting and a few untimely turnovers allowed the Eagles to hang around. The home team slowly cut a 12-point first-half deficit down to three midway through the second half,but Rib Lake swung the momentum in its favor for good with a five-point run from Avery Niemi and then Scheithauer dominated down the stretch to punctuate her memorable night.

The Eagles got within 36-32 when Aubrey Beyer scored off a nice assist from Vienna Klemett. That’s the point where Niemi came through by scoring on a drive to the basket and then nailing a 3-pointer for a 41-32 lead.

Scheithauer’s offensive putback got the lead back into double digits. After Eagle Ryley Darr sank two free throws to make it 43-34, the Redmen closed out the win by finishing with a 13-3 run. It started with an Emma Tlusty score in transition off a Scheithauer assist. Kiana Dallmann hit one of two free throws. Scheithauer scored in the paint and then scored off a backcourt steal. Not long after a Dallmann steal, Scheithauer put it away with a drive to the rack that resulted in a three-point play. She hit one last 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Eliana Smith’s free throw was the first point of the game, but Rib Lake took control after that with a 13-1 run. Scheithauer started it with a three-point play off an offensive rebound. Niemi scored, Scheithauer drained a 3-ball and Tlusty drove and scored as part of that run. An Addison Gumz 3-pointer, a pull-up bank shot by Scheithauer and a Tessa Weik score inside made it 20-8 before the Eagles started to chip away and got within 22-15 by halftime.

Rib Lake got the lead back to 10 at 31-21 on a Tlusty steal and score, but a Mykala Felesna score at the end of a press break, Kaydence Brost’s high post jumper and Emma Weber’s corner 3 off an inbound pass suddenly made it a 33-30 game. Tlusty’s free throw and Scheithauer’s drive got the lead back to six temporarily.

Tlusty finished with nine points for Rib Lake, while Niemi scored seven and Weik added six.

Felesna and Beyer led Pines (1-2) with seven points apiece.

Rib Lake finally gets to play in front of the home crowd tonight, Thursday, when the team hosts Flambeau at 7:15 p.m. in non-conference play. The Redmen are right back at it Friday with a Marawood Conference crossover at Edgar. They’ll host Abbotsford at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Athens 71, Rib Lake 27

The experience, size and physicality of the Athens Blue Jays remains a tough matchup for Rib Lake’s young squad, who fell behind early on Nov. 21 and then got almost completely shut down in the second half of a 71-27 Marawood North defeat.

Incredibly, Athens scored 68 of its points in the paint, making just one free throw and one outside jumper to account for its other three points. Athens scored 21 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds but also shot 50.7% overall from the field, so the Blue Jays didn’t exactly miss often either.

Rib Lake shot just 22% from the field (9 of 41 overall) and wasn’t able to overcome 31 turnovers and Athens’ 47-25 overall rebounding advantage.

Josie Scheithauer sank two free throws and nailed a 3-pointer to keep Rib Lake close in the early going at 10-5. Athens then went on a 14-2 run to go up 24-7. Tahlia Scheithauer banked home a 3-pointer late in the half and added a score off a steal to make it 35-18 and Niemi’s rebound basket made it 37-20 at the half.

But Rib Lake’s offense went cold after that and Athens went to work inside, get- ting 12 second-half points from Sophia Coker, eight from Jazelle Hartwig and six from Sy’Rih Hartwig while outscoring Rib Lake 18-7 in the last 18 minutes.

Coker finished with a game-high 24 points on 12-of-14 shooting and added 11 rebounds and three steals. Jazelle Hartwig scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds, five steals and three assists. Sy’Rih Hartwig added 16 points, four steals and three assists.

Josie Scheithauer led Rib Lake with seven points and she grabbed five rebounds. Tlusty scored six points and had two steals. Tahlia Scheithauer shook off an early injury and scored five points and had three steals and three rebounds.

Gumz scored three points. Weik had two points and a team-high eight rebounds plus two steals. Niemi and Isabelle Gumz had two points each.