MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL - Raiders end 2023 with comeback win over Ripon at the Dells

MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL

It didn’t start that way, but the Medford girls basketball team’s trip to Wisconsin Dells last week ended with a shot of momentum going into the second half of the season thanks to a 44-41 win over Ripon.

Rylee Hraby’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 56 seconds left capped Medford’s comeback from a nine-point halftime deficit and finally got the Raiders over the top in their Thursday morning thriller with the Tigers. Hraby hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points in the win that boosted Medford’s record to 4-9.

Offensively, it had been a struggle for the Raiders in their first three halves of basketball at Wisconsin Dells High School, but things finally started to click in the second half against the Tigers.

Down 24-15 to start the half, Medford held Ripon with a field goal for nearly the first five minutes and cut the deficit in half with a nice spin move in the post from Kayla Baumgartner and a 3-pointer from the right corner from Hraby on a well-executed inbound play. Hraby got to the rim on a transition chance and made it 26-22, but Ripon scored the next two baskets to go back up by eight.

Medford countered with another surge that set up the tight finish. Taylor Klingbeil cut through the lane and converted a three-point play off a Hraby assist to make it 30-25 with 11:11 to go. Two Toryn Rau free throws and a Laney Hraby rebound basket later, it was 30-29. After Ripon’s top player, Karsyn Bauman, made a tough shot in the lane, Rylee Hraby’s 3-pointer from the top of the key tied the game at 32-32 with 7:45 left. Medford took its first lead of the game at 34-32 with 6:27 to go when Klingbeil leaked out ahead of Ripon’s defense and got a layup off a defensive rebound and outlet pass from Rylee Hraby.

The teams went back and fourth for the next five minutes with Ripon’s Ariana Brooks tying the game at 39-39 at the end of a press break with 2:53 left. The teams traded turnovers and misses until the game neared its final minute. The Raiders pushed the tempo after getting a rebound off a Ripon miss. Rau’s initial shot was off the mark, but the long rebound bounced out to Aliyah Pilgrim in 3-point territory. Klingbeil found Hraby open at the top of the key and the sophomore hit nothing but net for a 42-39 Medford lead.

The Raiders got a stop, but a turnover in the backcourt led to an Ellerie Rost bucket with 31 seconds left, cutting Medford’s lead to one. Baumgartner came through with two clutch bonus free throws with 14 seconds left. Ripon called timeout with 9.9 seconds after getting the ball across midcourt, but Medford smothered the inbound play with Klingbeil getting into a tie-up with 2.6 seconds left. Ripon had the arrow and tried another inbound play. This time, the Tigers got about a 26-foot look for Bauman from the right wing, but the shot glanced off the rim at the buzzer.

The rally followed a first half where Medford made just five of 22 shots from the field and turned the ball over 11 times. Ripon turned the ball over 12 times and wasn’t particularly great from the field either, making nine of 29 shots, but the Tigers used two spurts to build their nine-point lead.

The first came after free throws by Rau and Pilgrim had gotten Medford within 7-6 with 11:51 to go. Adalin Nodolf scored from the field and hit two free throws, while Rost hit a pair of 3s to push Ripon to a 17-8 lead.

A 3-pointer from Rylee Hraby, a Klingbeil basket off a well-executed inbound play and Laney Hraby’s driving score pulled Medford within 19-15, but Rost hit another 3 and Nodolf scored at the horn.

By making 10 of 26 shots in the second half, including three of nine 3s, the Raiders bumped their shooting percentage to 31.3% for the game. With 24 offensive rebounds, Ripon had plenty of opportunities, getting off 65 shots, but the Tigers made just 16 to finish at 24.6% as they fell to 3-9.

The Raiders were also better at the free throw line, which was crucial in a three-point game, making 10 of 13. Ripon was just five of 12. The Tigers had an overall 47-38 rebounding advantage.

Klingbeil’s solid outing included nine points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots, two steals and two assists. Baumgartner had six points and pulled down 14 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive end. She had two steals and two blocked shots. Medford’s interior defense blocked seven Ripon shots.

Rau scored seven points while making five of six free throws. Laney Hraby scored four points and Pilgrim added a free throw. Rylee Hraby had three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Breanna Kraemer had four rebounds and three steals.

Bauman led Ripon with 16 points and eight rebounds. Nodolf had nine points and nine rebounds.

Medford stays busy in the next week, hosting Northland Pines Friday at 7:15 p.m. in Great Northern Conference play and then heading to La Crosse Central Saturday for a 4:45 p.m. varsity tip time. The Raiders host Tomahawk in GNC play Tuesday.

Dells 47, Medford 32

Medford couldn’t get much of anything to drop in the first half of its Dec. 27 tournament opener with host Wisconsin Dells. But the Raiders were still very much in the game well into the second half before the Chiefs used a key 13-4 run to pull away for a 47-32 win.

The Raiders were a brutal three for 30 from the field but were down just 17-8 at halftime and quickly closed the gap to 1715 in the second half. The Chiefs, though, never relinquished the lead and still led 34-26 after a Klingbeil score in transition with 4:40 left. That’s when they went on their clinching run to go up 47-28 with under two minutes left.

The Raiders were outmuscled inside by Wisconsin Dells’ 6-1 sophomore Natalie Backhaus, who scored a game-high 20 points on nine-of-21 shooting and added 15 rebounds. Backhaus had three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

The Chiefs (5-4) also got contributions from Ashlya Hopkins with eight points and five rebounds and Natalie Field with eight points as well.

Baumgartner hit two free throws, Pilgrim rattled in a 3-pointer and Kraemer added an inside score in Medford’s 7-0 run to start the second half. Wisconsin Dells answered with a 7-0 run of its own, but Klingbeil sank a 3 and Rau got her own rebound and scored to make it 26-20. Pilgrim’s second 3 of the night was followed by the Klingbeil score that made it 34-26 ahead of the Dells’ clinching run.

Klingbeil led Medford with 10 points, while Baumgartner had six points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Pilgrim’s 3s gave her six points and she had two rebounds. Rylee Hraby had four points and two steals, Rau had two points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kraemer had two points and eight rebounds. Bailey Eloranta scored off a late steal.

The Chiefs were 18 of 45 overall from the field (40%), while Medford ended at just 21.1% (12 of 57), including four of 31 from long range. Wisconsin Dells had a 39-31 rebounding advantage and outscored Medford in the paint 36-16.

Taylor Klingbeil