This story is sponsored by: Trudeau Construction and The Tile Guys
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Coaches always preach about how it important it is to play a complete 32 minutes and close out a game.
Sometimes, however, four good minutes is enough.
Marshfield struggled offensively for 3½ quarters but came up big when it counted, scoring the final 14 points of the game to beat Pulaski 50-41 in a nonconference girls basketball game at the Marshfield Invitational on Tuesday night at Marshfield High School.
The Tigers (4-1) will play Wausau Newman Catholic (8-0), the defending WIAA Division 4 state champions, in the championship game of the tournament at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Newman defeated Green Bay Preble 64-56 in the other semifinal Tuesday.
Marshfield went without a made field goal for 13 minutes – stretching from a made shot by Taylor Varsho with 30 seconds left in the first quarter through the 4:27 mark of the third quarter – and trailed by as many as eight points midway through the third.
It wasn’t the only time the Tigers, who cracked the 50-point mark for the first time this season, have struggled offensively. Marshfield coach Heidi Michaelis said she told her team to keep fighting.
“All we kept saying was ‘Hang in there, hang in there,’” Michaelis said. “We had to take care of the ball – we didn’t turn it over that many times – and we were getting some decent looks, they just weren’t going in. In a game like this, you just have to keep playing defense, you’ve got to keep getting on the boards and getting second and third looks, and limiting them on that end, and keep shooting the ball.
“You’ve got to keep battling. It’s tough on the offensive end, but if you continue to play defense, you’re going to be in those games. Tonight, we found a way to win and I’m really proud of the girls.”
Marshfield was just 9 of 38 from the field through the first three quarters, but cut Pulaski’s lead to 30-28 after a pair of free throws by Tiffany Stargardt and a basket by Varsho in the final minute of the period.
The Tigers pulled ahead 33-32 on a 3-pointer by Leah Ripp, who was 1 of 10 from the field prior to the long-range shot. However, Pulaski quickly regained a six-point lead as Brittni Wirtz capped the run with a 3-pointer at the 5:07 mark.
Ripp came back with another 3-pointer of the Tigers’ next possession, but Pulaski pushed its lead back to five on a layup by Laci Kropp with 3:30 to go. That would be the last basket by the Raiders.
Alyssa Brenner scored after an offensive rebound to start the 14-0 run for the Tigers, who hed Pulaski to five missed shots and four turnovers over the final 3½ minutes.
Varsho, who finished with a game-high 25 points on just nine of 30 shooting, made a pair of baskets by driving down the lane, and she, Sarah Wolff and Eleni Seitz each made two free throws to cap the scoring and knock off the previously unbeaten Raiders (5-1).
“They found a way, there’s no other way to say it,” Michaelis said. “It became a free-throw game at the end and girls came up with some big throws. They got some big second looks. In a game like this against a team that’s definitely bigger than us, you have to take advantage of the opportunities you have.”
Newman will provide a tough test for Marshfield. The Cardinals’ pressure, full-court defense is something the Tigers will have to solve to be victorious on Wednesday. Marshfield beat Newman 63-48 in last year’s title game of the Marshfield Invitational – one of only two losses suffered by the Cardinals.
“The good thing is we play against that (pressure) every day in practicing our press,” Michaelis said. “They like to deny and make you work extremely hard. You have to take care of the ball and I think we have people to do that. You have to make people pay for putting pressure on you. That’s the plan.
“It comes down to us executing on press-breaker and then when we get the ball ahead of them, executing on 3-on-2 or the advantage we have on the offensive end.”
Tigers 50, Raiders 41
Pulaski 10 12 8 11 – 41
Marshfield 13 5 10 22 – 50
PULASKI (41): Laci Kropp 1-2 0-0 2, Megan Coenen 0-0 0-0 0, Laura Szela 1-3 0-0 2, Alison Blackford 0-2 2-2 2, Brooke Lauritzen 5-12 1-2 11, Shoni Elbe 1-1 0-0 3, Brittni Wirtz 4-16 0-0 10, Tasha Giese 3-7 3-5 9, Mallory Nickerson 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 16-46. FT: 6-9. 3-pointers: 3-8 (Wirtz 2-4, Elbe 1-1, Blackford 0-2, Szela 0-1). Rebounds: 27 (Giese 6, Lauritzen 5). Turnovers: 13. Total fouls: 26. Fouled out: Kropp, Lauritzen, Wirtz. Record: 5-1.
MARSHFIELD (50): Taylor Varsho 9-30 6-12 25, Tiffany Stargardt 0-0 3-4 3, Leah Ripp 3-12 2-2 10, Sarah Wolff 0-0 2-2 2, Alyssa Brenner 1-3 1-2 3, Becky Boehning 0-0 0-2 0, Courtney Bauer 1-1 0-0 2, Eleni Seitz 1-4 3-4 5. FG: 15-50. FT: 17-28. 3-pointers: 3-18 (Ripp 2-5, Varsho 1-12, Brenner 0-1). Rebounds: 28 (Varsho 6, Wolff 5). Turnovers: 13. Total fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 4-1.