This story is sponsored by: WDLB-AM 1450 and WOSQ-FM 92.3 radio
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The final 6 minutes of the second quarter proved to be in the difference for the Marshfield girls basketball team on Friday night against Wausau East.
The Tigers closed out the second quarter on a 16-2 run and held a solid lead the rest of the way to beat East 51-38 in a Wisconsin Valley Conference contest at Marshfield High School.
Darian Molter scored nine of her 14 points in the key run in the second quarter for the Tigers.
The teams were tied 12-12 after one quarter and East led 17-16 after a rebound and basket by Vanessa Boorse with 6:07 to go in the first half.
Marshfield dominated the rest of the first half
Molter scored three straight times down court, and after a basket by Ellie Fehrenbach, Molter nailed a 3-pointer to finish off an 11-0 run and give the Tigers a 27-17 lead.
Allyson Salzer ended the run with a basket for East, but Caitlin Michaelis retaliated with a 3-pointer and Fehrenbach scored in the final minute to give Marshfield a 32-19 at the half.
“We thought, as coaches, East was more aggressive,” said Marshfield assistant coach Dean Bryan, who coached the Tigers due to a suspension of head coach Heidi Michaelis, who was ejected from a game last Friday. “We called a timeout and something went off in their heads, and they said ‘We need to start playing hard.’
“From that timeout to the end of the half, they stepped up their play. That’s what turned it. The second half was pretty much a toss-up. Luckily, we shot the ball well in the second quarter.”
East came no closer than eight points of the lead as Marshfield forced 12 second-half turnovers and held East to just five baskets. East remains winless in the conference at 0-10 (4-14 overall).
Michaelis scored the Tigers’ final 12 points and finished with a game-high 23 points. She made five 3-pointers and also grabbed nine rebounds.
The win is Marshfield’s second in a row after losing three straight before that, improving to 11-8 and 4-6 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. With just three regular-season games remaining, it is important for the Tigers to continue to play with maximum effort.
“We have to rebound and both ends,” Bryan said. “We have to work at possessions, we’ve got to get offensive and defensive boards. We’ve been working on it, and a game like tonight, we did outrebound them, and we were aggressive at both ends. We’re making little strides.
Marshfield hosts Ashwaubenon on Saturday at 3 p.m. and will play at home against Wisconsin Rapids as part of a girls-boys doubleheader on Thursday. The girls play at 6 p.m., with the boys to follow at 7:45 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com.
Tigers 51, Lumberjacks 38
Wausau East 12 7 9 10 – 38
Marshfield 12 20 11 8 – 51
WAUSAU EAST (38): Jorie Meyer 1-4 1-2 3, Paige Heinrich 0-0 0-0 0, Allyson Salzer 2-3 1-2 5, Vanessa Boorse 3-8 4-6 11, Olivia Zipperer 3-8 2-2 10, Anna Bauman 2-5 0-0 5, Kaleigh Karlen 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Euting 2-7 0-1 4. FG: 13-35. FT: 8-13. 3-pointers: 4-12 (Zipperer 2-5, Bauman 1-3, Boorse 1-4, Meyer 0-1). Rebounds: 15 (Bauman 5). Turnovers: 21. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 4-14, 0-10 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (51): Darian Molter 6-11 1-2 14, Martha Kupfer 0-0 0-0 0, Natalie Zuelke 0-3 0-0 0, Caitlin Michaelis 7-17 4-4 23, Emily Goeppinger 0-3 0-0 0, Lauren Gilbertson 0-1 0-0 0, Makayla Zimmermann 2-6 2-2 6, Kailey Hubler 1-4 0-0 2, Ellie Fehrenbach 3-5 0-2 6. FG: 19-50. FT: 7-10. 3-pointers: 6-18 (Michaelis 5-11, Molter 1-4, Goeppinger 0-2, Zimmermann 0-1). Rebounds: 32 (Michaelis 9). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 11-8, 4-6 Wisconsin Valley Conference.