RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL - Redmen can’t catch up at Ladysmith, beat Mellen in tough stretch

RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Rib Lake girls basketball team spent the entire game Monday climbing uphill trying dig out of double-digit deficits and just never quite got there in a 55-47 non-conference loss at Ladysmith.

The Lumberjills, who are right in the thick of the Heart O’ North Conference title chase at 6-1 and 9-4 overall, jumped ahead 11-0 as Rib Lake could not buy a basket in the first eight minutes. The Redmen got on one hot streak to get within two late in the first half, but overall it was just a tough shooting night for them.

Rib Lake was seven of 32 from the field in the first half and 10 of 36 in the second half to finish at 25% overall. They were solid at the free throw line, making 10 of 13.

Every time Rib Lake seemed to get close, Ladysmith would knock down a key shot or two and dropped the Redmen to 76 overall.

Elli Tucker, a sophomore forward, was usually the one hitting that key shot as she finished with a game-high 17 points. Braylee Wiles hit four of seven 3-point tries and scored 14 for Ladysmith.

Trailing 17-6, Rib Lake made its first run starting with an Emma Tlusty hoop. Addison Gumz scored, Tlusty got a 3point play and Kiana Dallmann hit two 3pointers. Single free throws by Tlusty and Tessa Weik made it 23-21, but Wiles and Mya Gago hit 3s in an 8-1 spurt that put Ladysmith up 31-22 at the half.

Tucker hit twice, Marika Gago scored once and then Tucker got a rebound basket as Ladysmith extended its lead to 44-30 with 8:30 to go. Down 49-38, Rib Lake put together one last run.

Weik scored at the end of a transition chance and then Addison Gumz scored off a Tlusty assist to make it 49-42. Kelsey Millin sank two bonus free throws for the Lumberjills with 2:13 left, but Rib Lake got a Tlusty steal and score, and Addison Gumz drilled Rib Lake’s third and final 3pointer of the game to pull the Redmen within 51-47 with 1:01 still to play. But nothing fell after that and Marika Gago, who scored 13 points, hit four more free throws to seal it.

Rib Lake still managed to put four scorers in double figures. Tlusty scored 12 points and had seven rebounds. Weik and Addison Gumz both scored 11. Weik had nine rebounds, while Gumz had four. Dallmann finished with 10 points. Isabelle Gumz scored Rib Lake’s first points with two free throws and had three steals. Avery Niemi had a point and 13 rebounds. Tahlia Scheithauer had three steals.

Rib Lake returns to Marawood Conference play tonight, Thursday, by starting the second round of play in the North Division with a 6:30 p.m. contest at Chequamegon. After a 7:15 p.m. nonconference game at Greenwood Monday, the Redmen get another North game Tuesday at Athens. That tip time has been bumped up to 6:30 p.m. Rib Lake is currently 4-4 in Marawood play, two games behind North leader Phillips and one game behind Prentice.

Royals 67, Rib Lake 36

On Friday, Marawood South leading Wisconsin Rapids Assumption was too much for the host Redmen, cruising to a 67-36 victory in a Marawood Conference crossover matchup.

The Royals used quickness, some precision passing and just plain good shooting to put this one away early. A 12-2 run put them up 19-6 midway through the first half. Then, after Rib Lake got five points on a Tlusty hoop and a Niemi 3pointer to get within 19-11, Assumption went on a 16-2 tear to open up a commanding 35-13 lead. It was 41-18 at halftime.

Addison Gumz and Weik opened the second half with scores and Niemi hit another 3 to keep Rib Lake within 45-25 early in the second half, but the Redmen couldn’t make any more of a dent in Assumption’s lead the rest of the way.

Assumption didn’t make much hay from the outside, making just five of 20 3pointers, but when the Royals executed in the half-court offense and in transition, they made their shots, hitting 23 of 45 twopoint attempts. Anna Schooley led the way with 18 points, Jordyn Jaglinski had 15 points and Sarah Shaw added 12.

The Redmen turned it over 26 times, but they had stretches where they broke Assumption’s 1-3-1 full-court pressure easily as well and they were able to get some scores off well-executed backdoor cuts.

Dallmann led Rib Lake with nine points, Weik added eight, Tlusty scored seven and Niemi had six on a pair of 3s. Weik pulled down 11 rebounds, while Tlusty had four. Weik and Niemi both dished out three assists. Weik had four steals and Tlusty had three.

Scheithauer and Addison Gumz scored two points each.

Rib Lake 65, Mellen 34

Rib Lake broke open a six-point game with a half-ending 18-1 run Thursday and coasted from there to a 65-34 nonconference win at Mellen.

Four Redmen hit double figures in scoring and the defense forced numerous turnovers, particularly during the stretch where they created the separation late in the first half.

The Redmen never trailed while recording their seventh win of the season. It was 20-14 after Mellen’s Amaya Haderly hit one of two free throws with 6:39 left in the first half. Then Rib Lake took off.

It started with Addison Gumz picking up a loose ball and taking it the other way for an easy bucket. Isabelle Gumz knocked down a 3, Addison Gumz scored off a steal, Isabelle Gumz scored again and a blocked shot by Madelyn Anderson led to an Addison Gumz basket that made it 31-14 with 2:52 left.

An injury early in the game to Madilyn Blomberg and foul trouble for Weik led to quality minutes for Rib Lake’s freshman posts Anderson and Megan Komarek, who held their own, especially considering Mellen has a powerful post presence in Nylia Wiley. Anderson had three rebounds and two blocked shots. Komarek grabbed a couple of boards as well.

Scheithauer sank a 3-pointer and her steal led to a Tlusty score. Gumz fed Dallmann for another score that made it 38-15 at the half. Addison Gumz drilled a 3 to start the second-half, Weik hit a long two-point shot, Addison Gumz got a putback and Scheithauer hit another 3 to put it out of reach at 48-23.

Addison Gumz had an 18-point, 10rebound double-double and added five steals. Dallmann finished with 15 points, Tlusty had 11 points and Weik had 10 pionts and 10 boards before fouling out long after the issue had been decided.

Scheithauer had two 3s, four assists and four steals. Isabelle Gumz finished with five points. Niemi had six rebounds.

Wiley led Mellen with 12 points, while Ellie Peters added 10.

Phillips 61, Rib Lake 44

Two of the teams that were involved in a three-way tie atop the Marawood North at the time met Jan. 7 in Rib Lake, where the Phillips Loggers continued their mastery of the Redmen, pulling away in the second half for a 61-44 win.

Save for a couple of early hiccups, Rib Lake handled the Loggers’ full-court pressure well in the first half, did some solid trapping of its own and matched the Loggers shot for shot and in physicality to trail only 29-27 at the break.

Isabelle Gumz came off the bench to give Rib Lake a big lift, scoring all eight of her points before the half, including a 17--foot jumper at the buzzer. Niemi also hit a pair of 3s and scored all eight of her points in the first half.

Rib Lake overcame an early six-point hole to take a couple of two-point leads before settling for the two-point halftime deficit.

It didn’t take long, however, for things to change in the second half. Rib Lake went cold offensively as the Loggers tweaked from a 1-3-1 zone in the first half to more of a 2-3 look in the second. Rib Lake made just seven of 28 shots from the field after halftime after going 12 of 31 in the first half.

Offensively, Phillips was able to pound the ball inside to 5-7 senior Kendra Timmers, who scored 14 of her game-high 20 points after halftime. She had six points and All-Marawood North senior Mataya Eckert added two baskets as the Loggers opened the half with a 10-0 run. Tlusty got Rib Lake’s first basket of the half 4:21 into it, but the Loggers kept stretching their lead, which hit 23 at 59-36 following a 3point basket by Raelee Williams. Williams also had a big second half. She scored 10 of her 12 points after halftime. Eckert was a factor as well with 11 points in the game.

Dallmann hit two late 3s and led Rib Lake in scoring with 10 points. Tlusty and Addison Gumz scored six each. Weik was hit with some foul trouble and finished with four second-half points. Blomberg had a first-half basket.

Rib Lake was right with Phillips in rebounding. The Loggers had a slim 41-38 edge. Blomberg led Rib Lake with nine boards. Niemi had seven and Scheithauer had five. Scheithauer led Rib Lake with five assists. Addison Gumz had four and Blomberg had three.