This story is sponsored by: The Marshfield Tiger Booster Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Ema Fehrenbach was a force near the basket and the Marshfield girls basketball team was automatic at the free throw line late as it defeated Merrill 60-40 in a Wisconsin Valley Conference matchup Friday night at The Boson Company Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
Fehrenbach scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, making 10 of 14 shots from the field and 4 of 7 at the free throw line for the Tigers, who with their win and a D.C. Everest loss to Wausau West on Friday, clinched at least a share of their first Wisconsin Valley Conference championship since 2011.
The win pushes Marshfield’s record to 17-2 overall and 9-0 in the WVC, three games in front of D.C. Everest and Merrill (14-4, 6-3 WVC) with three conference games remaining. The Tigers can clinch the outright championship with a win at Everest on Feb. 12.
“It’s a big deal to these girls,” said Marshfield coach Heidi Michaelis, who now has eight Valley titles to her credit in her 15 seasons at the Tigers’ coach. “You sit down with the girls in the beginning of the year, and that’s the goal. We don’t even talk about it after that. Until we do it, so much can happen. We put ourselves in a good spot and we just want to get to the next game and be ready to go. They’re excited and I’m really proud of them.”
Marshfield trailed only once, 5-4 early on, and the game was tied at 10-10 before the Tigers held Merrill scoreless for nearly 6 minutes.
Two baskets by Fehrenbach gave Marshfield the lead for good. Meg Bryan drilled a 3-pointer and McKayla Scheuer hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 23-18 lead at halftime.
Marshfield scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half, which included another 3-pointer from Bryan, and after turning the ball over four straight times, Marshfield went on a 9-0 run to open up a 16-point lead.
The Tigers forced 23 turnovers and held Merrill to just 12 of 35 shooting.
“We have to take advantage of having people that can score in the post,” Michaelis said. “If they do that (underneath), the defense collapses so much and shooters are wide open on that side. We came out in the second half and built that lead a little bit, had some good stops and had some good possessions.”
Marshfield made 14 of 16 free throws, including its last 10, during the final 6 minutes to pull away.
Tigers 60, Bluejays 40
Merrill 18 22 – 40
Marshfield 23 37 – 60
MERRILL (40): Maddix Bonnell 1-5 0-0 2, Kennedy Soderberg 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Page 2-4 0-0 5, Lindsey Casper 2-6 5-6 10, Anna Finnell 4-12 4-5 13, Morgan Pettit 1-2 1-4 3, Malayna Beyer 0-1 0-0 0, Cassandra Casper 1-2 2-4 4, Chelsey Lamonica 0-0 1-2 1, Rylee Folz 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 12-35. FT: 13-21. 3-pointers: 3-6 (Page 1-1, L. Casper 1-3, Finnell 1-2). Rebounds: 20 (Pettit 6). Turnovers: 23. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: none. Record: 14-4, 6-3 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (60): McKayla Scheuer 3-9 2-2 9, Dani Bender 0-0 0-0 0, Meg Bryan 2-4 0-0 6, Ana Jensen 0-0 2-2 2, Sara Dasler 0-0 2-2 2, Jenna Jakobi 0-1 1-2 1, Corianne Johnson 0-1 6-6 6, Maddie Nikolai 2-4 1-2 5, Ema Fehrenbach 10-14 4-6 24, Hannah Meverden 2-4 1-2 5. FG: 19-37. FT: 19-24. 3-pointers: 3-8 (Bryan 2-3, Scheuer 1-5). Rebounds: 25 (Fehrenbach 8). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 17-2, 9-0 Wisconsin Valley Conference.