By Jeremy Mayo
Bri Jorgensen goes up for a rebound during Tuesday night's WIAA Playoff game at Wausau West (Bob Mainhardt photo).
WAUSAU – There would be no upset for the RHS Girls Basketball Team on Tuesday at Wausau West as the third-seeded Warriors scored the first 19 points of the game and cruised to a 71-20 win.
The Hodags fell behind early thanks to 11 first quarter turnovers. It took over five minutes for the team to get its first shot off and the first points came with 2:07 left in the quarter as Ashley Sachse drove to the basket for a bucket and a foul.
“We came out tentative, had a couple of turnovers, didn’t get a few rebounds and before you knew it, we were down by ten,” RHS Girls Basketball Coach Anita Matter said. “I think we obviously played hard and fought for the win.”
The Hodags inched to within 22-7 at the end of the first quarter, but West started the second quarter on a 9-1 run and led 40-12 at the half.
Jessica Waldvogel led four Warriors in double digits with 15 points. Amanda Fischer had 13, Courtney Falk had 11 and Carly Coleman had 10.
Katie Sweeney and Bri Jorgensen had five points apiece for Rhinelander.
The Hodags extended their bench in the second half and got some varsity minutes for some girls that played exclusively on JV this season while the Warriors continued to rotate starters in and out of the game until the latter stages of the fourth quarter.
Among those players for Rhinelander were Alexis Allen, who had four points and Brianna Bozek, who scored two.
“It was so much fun to see them go out there and work their little butts off,” Mattek said of getting some fresh faces some playing time.
Rhinelander, which has not won a WIAA playoff game since prior to the 1999-2000 season, finishes a hard knocks first season under the first year coach.
The good news is that all of this year’s team will be eligible to come back. While there can only be improvement for the Hodags next year, it’s not just going to come naturally.
“Things are not how we planned them to be at the end of the season,” said Mattek. “They only was we’re going to be good is starting now until the next season. We need to continue to work hard and take care of everything in the summer and push each other to get better.”
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BOX SCORE: Rhinelander at Wausau West – Tuesday, March 9, 2010
RHS 7 5 4 4 – 20 WW 22 18 14 17 – 71
Field Goal Shooting: RHS 7-24, 29%; WW 30-62, 48% 3-Point Shooting: RHS 1-4, 25%; WW 2-10, 20% Free Throw Shooting: RHS 5-8, 63%; WW 9-15, 60% Rebounds: RHS 12, WW 31 Turnovers: RHS 32, WW 10
Rhinelander: Katie Sweeney (1-4 FG, 2-2 FT, 5 pts.); Bri Jorgensen (2-8, 1-2, 5); Alexis Allen (2-3, 0-0, 4); Ashley Sachse (1-3, 2-3, 4); Brianna Bozek (1-2, 0-1, 2); Mara Meyer (0-1, 0-0, 0); Bree Evans (0-1, 0-0, 0); Ellen Bognar (0-1, 0-0, 0); Lauren Biscobing (0-1, 0-0, 0).
Rebounds: Jorgensen 3, Emily Fortier 2, Allen 1, Sweeney 1, Evans 1, Sachse 1, Team 3
Wausau West: Jessica Waldvogel (6-14, 2-3, 15); Amanda Fischer (5-6, 3-3, 13); Courtney Falk (5-10, 1-2, 11); Carly Coleman (4-7, 2-5, 10); Alex Nickel (4-6, 0-0, 9); Mackenzie Fischer (3-9, 0-0, 6); Johanna Fischer (2-5, 0-0, 4); Lauren Cejka (1-1, 0-0, 2); Janelle Huehnerfuss (0-2, 1-2, 1); Shanna King (0-2, 0-0, 0)
Rebounds: A. Fischer 7, Waldvogel 4, Falk 4, M. Fischer 3, J. Fischer 3, Nickel 2, Huehnerfuss 2, Cejka 2, Coleman 2, King 1, Team 1
3-Point Field Goals: RHS – Sweeney; WW – Nickel, Waldvogel
Rhinelander (0-21) Wausau West (19-4) vs. TBA, 3/13
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