This story is sponsored by Norm E Lane Farm
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield girls basketball team needed to taste victory again before beginning the WIAA playoffs next week, and even though it was sloppy at times, the Tigers were able to do enough to pull out a 55-47 win over Merrill in its regular-season finale Thursday night at Marshfield High School.
The Tigers, coming off a loss at Wisconsin Rapids last Thursday, turned the ball over 19 times but forced 25 turnovers in holding off the Bluejays to finish the regular season with a 17-5 record and a 10-2 mark in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.
Marshfield finishes one game behind Stevens Point in the Wisconsin Valley Conference standings, ending its streak of four straight conference titles.
“We found a way to win a game where we didn’t take good care of the ball at all,” Marshfield coach Heidi Michaelis said. “To their credit they stayed with it and stayed tough. Merrill’s a good team and they do things very aggressively. We just aren’t good with the ball right now and it’s something we’ve seen the last couple weeks and we need to do better with it.”
Marshfield started out hot from the floor, more specifically 3-point range, nailing 5 of 10 shots from deep in the first quarter. Caitlin Michaelis hit three 3-pointers and Taylor Varsho added two more to help the Tigers build a 19-12 lead after one quarter.
Marshfield sputtered for much of the second quarter, turning it over seven times. Merrill eventually pulled ahead 25-24 on a 3-pointer by Jourdyn Mootz with 1 minute to go, but the Bluejays’ only lead of the half lasted for just 20 seconds as Varsho responded with a 3-pointer and Marshfield took a 29-25 lead into halftime.
Merrill started the second half by scoring the first five points to regain a one-point advantage, but again the lead was short-lived as Varsho came back with another basket to put Marshfield back on top 53 seconds into the third quarter. The Tigers would never trail again.
“They made us more uncomfortable on the offensive end probably more than any other team did throughout the year,” Michaelis said. “It’s a zone, and you should probably be able to get some open shots from the outside, but if you’re never comfortable you can see what happens.
“We did a better job in the second half making interior passes and finding easier ways to score. We were more aggressive in the gaps to get some easy layups and we didn’t have to rely on the shots from the outside.”
The Tigers closed the third quarter on a 9-2 run that included a 3-pointer by Leah Ripp and two baskets by Courtney Bauer as they built a 42-34 lead.
Merrill got as close as six points numerous times in the fourth but never any closer as the Tigers protected the ball a little better, turning it over just three times, compared to six for the Bluejays.
Varsho ended up with 21 points to lead the Tigers. Bauer added seven points and five rebounds and Michaelis finished with the nine points she scored in the first quarter.
Renee Sladek had a game-high 24 points for Merrill (12-10, 5-7 Wisconsin Valley).
Marshfield opens the WIAA playoffs next Friday, March 9, with a Division 1 regional semifinal at home against the winner of Hudson and Eau Claire Memorial.
Tigers 55, Bluejays 47
Merrill 12 13 9 13 – 47
Marshfield 19 10 13 13 – 55
MERRILL (47): Dawn Leland 2-3 0-0 4, Liz Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kendra Andreska 0-0 0-0 0, Marissa Bartz 4-6 0-1 9, Jourdyn Mootz 3-8 0-2 8, Reegan Byer 0-4 0-0 0, Brianna LaMonica 1-3 0-0 2, Renee Sladek 8-13 8-9 24. FG: 18-37. FT: 8-12. 3-pointers: 3-7 (Mootz 2-4, Bartz 1-2, Sladek 0-1). Rebounds: 19 (Sladek 5, Mootz 5). Turnovers: 25. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: Byer, Mootz, Smith. Record: 12-10, 5-7 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (55): Ellie Kummer 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Varsho 6-16 6-9 21, Tiffany Stargardt 3-4 1-2 7, Darian Molter 2-5 2-3 6, Caitlin Michaelis 3-5 0-0 9, Leah Ripp 1-2 0-2 3, Courtney Bauer 3-4 1-2 7, Ellie Fehrenbach 1-1 0-0 2. FG: 19-38. FT: 10-18. 3-pointers: 7-17 (Varsho 3-9, Michaelis 3-5, Ripp 1-2, Molter 0-1). Rebounds: 18 (Bauer 5). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 17-5, 10-2 Wisconsin Valley Conference.