RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL - Tough loss to Tomahawk as offense struggles after good start

RIB LAKE GIRLS BASKETBALL

A defensive switch by Tomahawk slowed Rib Lake’s early momentum and the Redmen never got it back, which allowed the Hatchets to steal Monday’s non-conference girls basketball in the last minute 37-35.

Freshman Lizzy Long hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, giving the Hatchets their first lead of the game at 3635. That answered a tough inside score by Rib Lake’s Tessa Weik 15 seconds earlier as she slithered inside Tomahawk’s top post presence Freya Alberg to score at the rim and break a 33-33 tie.

The Redmen had their chances in the last half-minute, but missed a layup on a well-executed baseline inbound play with 12 seconds left and missed the front end of a bonus free throw situation down two with 5.8 seconds left. They had one lastgasp chance having to go the length of the court with 1.6 seconds left, but the Hatchets deflected the inbound pass near mid-court to run out the clock.

Rib Lake head coach Austin Edwards said, save for a couple of second-half lapses that allowed Tomahawk to score against the Redmen’s zone with some high-low passes from the opposite elbow to the low block, he certainly couldn’t fault the team’s defensive effort in the loss.

He was just at a loss for words as to how the Rib Lake couldn’t find ways to score against Tomahawk’s man-to-man after the Hatchets switched out of their initial 2-3 zone midway through the first half. Rib Lake shot just 29.3% from the field (12 of 41) and was eight of 15 from the free throw line.

Rib Lake moved the ball well against that zone, getting two early 3s from Addison Gumz and an Avery Niemi score as she cut to the basket and took an assist from Tessa Weik. Defensively, the Redmen turned a couple of Hatchet turnovers into points as well as they built leads of 13-2 and 17-5.

Tomahawk got 3s from Long and Claire Albert to creep within 17-13, then Gumz made a hustle play, beating Long for a loose ball at the half-court stripe. She flipped the ball to Tahlia Scheithauer, who fed Tlusty for a three-point play. Tlusty then drilled a 3-point shot with 55 seconds left in the half to get the lead back to 10. Alberg scored inside with eight seconds left to make it 23-15 at the half.

Gumz scored off a steal, then got fouled after another steal and made one of two free throws for a 26-15 lead with 16:18 left. From there, the offensive struggles really crept in for Rib Lake and Tomahawk slowly whittled away at its deficit.

Long started the comeback with a 3pointer. Alberg’s basket made it 26-21, but Tlusty sank two free throws with 11:05 left to make it a three-score game again.

Tomahawk got baskets from Aliyah Nelson and Alberg to get within three. Niemi’s free throws with 8:01 left put the Redmen up 30-25. Niemi cut into the lane and scored off a Gumz assist to make it 3229 and Tlusty made one of two free throws with 2:36 left for a 33-29 lead.

But Tomahawk’s Elizabeth Arnott put back an Alberg miss and then Alberg got the Hatchets even for the first time with a short shot at the 1:23 mark. Weik answered with her driving layup from the left side for her only points of the game. Then Tomahawk broke Rib Lake’s press and found Long open at the top of the key and she hit nothing but net on her goahead shot. Tlusty led Rib Lake with 13 points and Gumz had 12. Niemi scored six points and Kiana Dallmann added a first-half score. Weik led Rib Lake with five rebounds and three assists. Niemi and Dallmann had two assists each. Gumz had five steals and Scheithauer had four.

Alberg’s 14 points paced Tomahawk, while Long had nine on three 3s and Albert added eight. Albert had nine rebounds and seven assists. Tomahawk outrebounded the Redmen 35-18.

Rib Lake (6-5 Marawood, 9-8 overall) looks to rebound tonight, Thursday, when it hosts Newman Catholic in a Marawood Conference crossover. The Cardinals currently sit at the bottom of the South Division at 2-10, 3-14. Rib Lake then goes to Prentice Tuesday, looking to avenge a 49-41 loss from Dec. 20. The winner could have the inside track on second place in the North’s final standings.

Rib Lake is at Stratford Feb. 13 and will make up a Jan. 30 postponement at home against Abbotsford on Feb. 14. Game times are all 7:15 p.m.