RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL - Redmen crank things up in second half of 70-34 road win
RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Rib Lake girls basketball team started the second half of Marawood Conference play like it did the first with a lopsided win over the Chequamegon Screaming Eagles.
In Park Falls Thursday, Rib Lake got off to a slow start but eventually took care of business in the second half and rolled to a 70-34 win. The win got the Redmen back over the .500 mark in conference play at 5-4 and has them at 8-6 overall. They remain tied with Prentice for second place in the Marawood North, two games behind the 7-2 Phillips Loggers.
Chequamegon fell to 0-9, 2-12 with Thursday’s loss.
Avery Niemi had the best day of her junior season, dropping in four 3-pointers on her way to 18 points. She also grabbed 11 rebounds and had five assists and two steals. Tessa Weik and Addison Gumz hit double figures as well for Rib Lake with 10 points each.
The Screaming Eagles hung tough through the first half. Rib Lake threatened to pull away when Isabelle Gumz scored with just under 10 minutes left and, after a Madyson Ernst 3 for Chequamegon, Kiana Dallmann and Weik scored and Gumz got another bucket off a steal for a 23-11 lead.
But the Eagles chipped away, getting an Ernst free throw, a backcourt steal and score from Jalen Brunell and a score from Adison Bablick to get within 23-16. After three points from Rib Lake’s Emma Tlusty, Bablick and Brunell both hit a pair of bonus free throws to cut Rib Lake’s lead to 26-20. An Addison Gumz free throw with 14.8 seconds left gave the Redmen a 27-20 halftime lead.
The Redmen came out of the locker room with more focus in the second half and put the game out of reach quickly with a 26-2 run. It started with an offensive putback by Weik and a Tahlia Scheithauer hoop. After Brunell scored for the home team, Addison Gumz scored twice in between 3-pointers from Niemi, Weik scored six of her points, Isabella Gumz scored twice, once off a steal and Niemi added another hoop following an offensive rebound by Scheithauer as the Redmen stretched their lead to 53-22 with just under 10 minutes left.
Bablick finally hit a 3-pointer for Chequamegon, but Rib Lake continued to extend its lead from there, getting it as high as 39 in the last two minutes.
Isabelle Gumz finished with eight points, Tlusty scored seven and Scheithauer added five. The big lead allowed freshmen Megan Komarek and Madelyn Anderson to get some extended minutes late and they scored four points apiece. Dallmann also scored four in the win.
Bablick and Brunell led Chequamegon with 12 points apiece.
Weik and Addison Gumz had six rebounds apiece, while Anderson had five. Isabelle Gumz had three assists. Weik had four steals and Isabelle Gumz had three. As a team, the Redmen collected 18 steals as Chequamegon hurt itself with numerous turnovers.
Rib Lake’s non-conference game at Greenwood Monday and its Marawood North game with Athens Tuesday were postponed due to the extreme cold. Rib Lake will now play at Athens on Monday at 6:30 p.m. Before that, Rib Lake has a tough Marawood crossover at Auburndale (7-2, 12-2) Friday at 7:15 p.m. The Redmen will host North rival Abbotsford on Jan. 30.
