RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL - Athens outmuscles Rib Lake girls; Target Center trip is next
RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL
Athens’ sizable senior duo of Sophia Coker and Jazelle Hartwig was again too much for Rib Lake to handle defensively and the Redmen’s offense again struggled to find openings against their Marawood North rivals, who cruised to a 56-27 win Tuesday in Rib Lake.
Held to just seven points in the first half, Rib Lake fell too far behind to seriously threaten the Blue Jays after that, but the Redmen did have their best run of the game right after the break.
Down 29-7 to start the half, Addison Gumz gave Rib Lake a spark, converting a three-point play 41 seconds in and hitting a pull-up jumper. Josie Scheithauer made one of two free throws and took a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for a score, splitting two Athens defenders at the rim to make it 29-15 and force an Athens timeout with 14:16 to go.
That timeout got Athens back on track. The Jays scored six straight points to go back up by 20. Two 3-pointers by Gumz were Rib Lake’s last gasp, pulling the Redmen within 39-21, but a 12-0 run that included six points in the paint from Coker and four from Hartwig extended the lead to 30.
With the win, Athens stayed on top of the Marawood North standings at 9-1 and 10-5 overall, though the 7-1 Loggers will certainly have their say in the final month.
Rib Lake slipped to 3-7 in Marawood play and 5-10 overall.
Rib Lake’s 2-3 zone held up well for awhile in the first half. Athens started cold from the field and the Redmen rebounded well enough against the taller and more physical Blue Jays to keep it close for eight minutes.
Avery Niemi hit a long two-point jumper for Rib Lake’s first points and a 4-2 score and Scheithauer fought through contact for a tough two inside to make it 6-4. A Coker score at the 10-minute mark made it 8-4 and Athens took off from there. Rib Lake went a 10-minute stretch without a field goal following Scheithauer’s score and Athens slowly but steadily opened up a 21-5 lead before Tahlia Scheithauer got a steal and score with 3:10 left. But that would be Rib Lake’s last points of the half.
Gumz led Rib Lake with 12 points, 11 of which were scored in the second half. Niemi added seven points, including two steals and fast-break scores in the last three minutes. Josie Scheithauer scored six and Tahlia Scheithauer finished with two.
Rib Lake’s next game will be an exciting one as the Redmen will play Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, home of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. Rib Lake and Avail Academy of Minneapolis will meet in girls and boys JV and varsity games starting at 3 p.m.
The Redmen return to Marawood North play Jan. 25 at Abbotsford. Friday’s Marawood North home game with Chequamegon was postponed due to weather and will now be played Monday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
