Marines Rally Past Bulldogs In Second Half

Riley Kieffer dumped in 14 second-half points to push her Marinette Marines past local rivals Peshtigo on Thursday night, 50-40.
The Marines trailed 17-14 at halftime, with Kieffer and Rylee Hansen’s four points apiece the leaders. They had also missed 10 of their 13 free throw attempts.
In the second half, the Marines were a completely different team. Kieffer poured in the points, making six of her seven free throws to lead the way to a 30-point Marinette half.
“In the second half we put an emphasis on getting better looks in transition for our shooters,” Marinette coach Zac Barker said. “We had players in foul trouble in the first half that impacted our rotations and flow of offense.”
Kyle Veriha had five second-half points, making three of four free throws. Olivia Hanson also scored five in the half, making two of three from the charity stripe.
Marinette made 12 of its 15 free throws in the second half.
“The biggest factor of the turnaround is calming down, playing as a team, making free throws and less dumb fouls,” Barker said.
Peshtigo scored 23 points in the second half and 40 for the game. Akira Smalls led the way with 13, making four of her seven field goals and four of five free throws.
Jaci Tonn’s eight rebounds and two assists were both team-highs. She scored five points.
Maysen Brissette and Rylie Ellie scored six each. Peshtigo turned the ball over 24 times in the game, but Bulldogs coach Jeff Sunstrom sees hope for the rest of this season.
“You have to give the Marines a lot of credit, They played very well and deserved the victory,” Sunstrom said. “But I do believe in our girls. It’s just going to take some time. We have to stay together and continue to work hard. If we do that, I strongly believe that better days are ahead.”
Peshtigo falls to 0-2 in non-conference play while Marinette is 1-1.
The Bulldogs are off until Nov. 29 when they play Sevastopol on the road.
Badgers Pull Away From
Bobcats in Second Half
Niagara’s offense caught fire for 32 points in the second half of a 50-26 win over Florence on Friday.
Leading just 18-16 at the halftime break, the Badgers came out of the half with a much-improved offense.
Josie Rock scored 16 points in the game and Morgan Borchardt scored 14. The duo scored nine apiece in the second half.
Mallory Sanicki scored six of her eight points in the second half as well. She made six of eight free throws.
Florence’s leading scorer was Victoria Peterson. She scored nine in the game. Isabella Millan had seven.
Peterson’s eight rebounds were a team-high.
As a team, Florence struggled from the field, shooting 8-58 (13.8 percent). They made three of 25 3-point attempts (12 percent).
Rebels Roll Over
Wolverines 66-29
The Laona/Wabeno Rebels have started the season with two straight wins, using an offensive explosion to beat Crivitz 66-29 on Thursday night.
The Rebels got double-figure points from four players.
Malerie Krawze and Rylee Yaeger scored 13 apiece, Grace Krawze scored 12, and Kaylyn Larock got 10.
Crivitz was led by Lucy Gruszynski, who scored 11 in the game, including seven in the first half. Kirsten Pusick scored seven.
Laona/Wabeno beat Niagara 58-28 last Tuesday. Next up to try and stop the Rebels’ strong start is Oconto on Tuesday night.
Rangers Win Big in
Match-up With Patriots
Rachel Schlies scored 19 points in the first half to propel Wausaukee to a 38-8 halftime lead and a 57-14 win over Goodman-Pembine on Thursday.
Schlies scored 24 points, 22 of which came on two-point buckets. Sparrow Luccarini had 11 points, with her six second-half points a game-high.
G-P’s leading scorer was Trina LaVie with six points.
Blazers Pull Away
from Wolverines
in Second Half
The Crivitz Wolverines couldn’t put together all facets of the game in a 52-38 defeat to NEW Lutheran on Monday night.
The Wolverines were close at the halfway point, trailing just 24-20, but NEW scored 28 points in the second half to take control of the game.
“They capitalized on easy buckets. They were efficient around the rim and they rebounded well and our offense sputtered,” Crivitz coach Brett Meyers said. “I thought we played better defense in the first half and better offense in the second half. We’ve got to do both of those in both halves.”
Lucy Gruszynski scored 16 points and finished as the only Wolverine in double figures. Senya Caine scored six and Tayah Werner scored five.
Lexie Meerstein scored 15 to pace NEW. Ebony Sinclair added 12 and Samantha Rusch got 11.
The Wolverines are a small, relatively young squad, with two seniors and two juniors. Gruszynski is one of four sophomores on the team.
Meyers said building confidence is a big part of what the Wolverines need to do this season.
“They’re very athletic kids and they’re smart kids, we’ve just got to get them to believe in themselves,” he said. “That’s kind of where we sit. We’re young.”
Blue Devils Build
First Half Lead Over
Tigers; Hold on for Win
The second half of Thursday’s matchup between Oconto and Wrightstown was played largely at the free throw line, with the Blue Devils getting a 51-43 win when all was said and done.
Of the 42 combined points in the second half, 25 were scored from the stripe. Oconto made enough to give themselves the win after a strong first half.
Addisyn Viestenz scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the first half and the Blue Devils held a 31-21 advantage at the halfway point.
The Blue Devils made just three field goals in the second half, but they attempted 25 free throws, making 13. Viestenz was 4-4 at the line in the second half and Madi Thomson went 5-6 with a field goal to score seven second-half points.
Anna VandenLangenberg and Gracie Simon scored eight points apiece.
Overall, Oconto was 18-31 at the free throw line, with Viestenz going 9-10 to lead the way. Wrightstown was 13-21. Six of the Tigers’ 12 field goals were 3-pointers.
The Tigers made just four second-half field goals as well, and coach Nick Thomson was happy with the defense his team played. With the aggressive brand of defense they play, they understand they’re going to give up some free throws.
“We’re undersized this year and we know that, so playing together is the goal. Overall, I was very happy with the performance,” he said. “You’re going to have breakdowns, being the second game of the season, but they stuck together and really we only gave up 10 points for the majority of the second half until they made some free throws at the end.”
Being undersized didn’t hurt the Blue Devils too much on the boards, either.
“We know our game and we don’t let it phase us,” junior Gracie Simon said of her team’s size. “We’re kind of just like, ‘play our game, box out, and we’ll be fine.’ Speed, transition, that’s how we do it. Just forget about it and play our game.”
Rangers Fall to Eagles
in Non-Conference Play
Four Wausaukee Rangers shouldered the entire scoring load in a 64-41 loss to Southern Door on Friday night.
Rachel Schlies led the team with 21 points. She made seven field goals and six of her nine free throws in the game.
Sparrow Luccarini and Lydia Schaal each scored nine. Schaal made all three of her three-point field goals, all in the second half.
Melody Schaal scored two points.
Southern Door’s Allianna Dufek scored 22 points to lead all scorers. Ashlyn Delfosse scored 13 points.