MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL - Raiders get pushed, but hang on for road win at Northland Pines
MEDFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Medford Raiders fought off an inspired effort by Northland Pines Friday, getting double-digit scoring from four players and key plays from everyone down the stretch while holding off the host Eagles 62-53.
Pines came out hot, making 13 of 27 shots from the field and leading for a good portion of the first half. The Eagles’ effort on the boards also was a factor as they grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and had a 38-31 overall rebounding edge.
But Medford hit its share of shots too in the first half and used an Aliyah Pilgrim 3 with 14 seconds left to take a 32-31 halftime lead. The Raiders never trailed in the second half, but it took an 11-6 surge in the last three minutes to put this one away.
With the win, Medford moved one step closer to ending the regular season with a .500 record after it once sat at 2-8. The Raiders are now 11-12 overall heading into Friday’s finale at Tomahawk, who is again winless in Great Northern Conference play. Medford is 6-5 in the GNC and can finish in a third-place tie with Mosinee if it beats the Hatchets and Mosinee loses at second-place Rhinelander Friday.
Pines slid to 3-8 in league play with Friday’s loss and is 7-15 overall.
Kayla Baumgartner scored 17 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Raiders, but she had plenty of help. Rylee Hraby scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had five steals in the win. Pilgrim hit four of five shots from the field for 11 points and had five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Taylor Klingbeil had 12 points and Toryn Rau made things happen in the lane and scored eight points while adding two assists.
Baumgartner scored on a tough move in the post and took a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast with it to give Medford a 39-34 lead two minutes into the second half and the lead got to six at 42-36 on a 3 from Hraby. Eagle Mykala Felesana answered with a 3 and that’s how the next stretch of basketball went. Felesana’s rebound basket got the Eagles within 46-43 with 5:47 to go and, after a stop, the Eagles had a chance to draw closer.
Breanna Kraemer, however, pulled down a rebound and hit Klingbeil with the outlet pass for a layup. Hraby got a steal and took it the distance for a 50-43 lead with 4:50 left. Kraemer’s nice move inside answered a Ryyn Darr basket to keep Medford ahead by seven, but Darr scored again for Pines.
Baumgartner’s basket with 3:05 left was countered by two Emma Weber free throws for a 54-49 score. After Baumgartner made one of two free throws with 2:37 left, Pilgrim took a defensive rebound end to end for a 57-49 lead.
With a minute to go, Kraemer came up with one of the game’s top defensive plays, blocking a shot by Weber, who had collected her own rebound off a missed 3. The ball found its way to Hraby, who hit Pilgrim for a breakaway layup and a 60-50 lead that finally allowed the Raiders and their fans to breathe a bit easier.
Kraemer had two points in the win, but also grabbed eight rebounds and had two steals.
Weber led the Eagles with 12 points, while Felesena had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Aubrey White added 10 points.
After its hot first half, Pines was just eight of 33 from the field in the second half to finish at 35% overall (21 of 60). Medford was 10 of 28 in the first half (35.7%), but stepped that up to 12 of 22 in the second half (54.5%) to finish at a solid 44% overall. Medford also shot 24 free throws compared to Pines’ eight. The Raiders made 12 to outscore the Eagles from the line by six.
Friday’s game in Tomahawk starts at 5:30 p.m. with the JV game scheduled for 4 p.m.
Then it’s on to the WIAA Division 2 tournament for Medford. The team’s late-season surge boosted it to the sixth seed in its side of the sectional bracket. The Raiders will host 11th-seeded New Richmond (0-21) in Tuesday’s regional opener at 7 p.m. The winner earns a trip to third-seeded Rice Lake (16-7) on Friday, Feb. 23 with the regional set to be played the following night.
