Tigers allow 42 points in second half of home loss

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MARSHFIELD — The Marshfield girls basketball team is in a funk to start the new season, and it all starts on the defensive end, head coach Heidi Michaelis said.

The Tigers lost their Wisconsin Valley Conference opener 72-59 to Stevens Point on Tuesday night at The Boson Company Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School, falling to 1-3 overall.

Stevens Point scored 42 points in the second half as it shot 50 percent from the floor, making 12 of 24 field goals. The Panthers also made 16 of 21 free throws, including 11 of 14 over the final five minutes to put the game away.

Marshfield trailed 30-28 at halftime and 43-42 after a 3-pointer by Meg Bryan with 12:27 to go. Then Point went on a 12-2 run to open up a double-digit lead. The Tigers got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

The Tigers have lost three of their first four games, allowing more than 70 points in each defeat. In order to change their fortunes going forward, they have to start playing better on the defensive end, Michaelis said.

“If we don’t play defense better than that, and we don’t get stops and compound that by not rebounding, (it is) tough to win games,” Michaelis said. “In our three losses, we have given up over 70 points. That’s not how we’ve been able to be successful, and we have to figure out a way to play better team defense. Right now we’re just struggling.”

Stevens Point 5-foot-3 sophomore guard Madisyn Rogan scored 22 points in the win, making 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range. She also grabbed five rebounds for the Panthers (3-5, 1-1 WVC).

Ema Fehrenbach scored 14 of her team-high 19 points in the first half for Marshfield. Maddie Nikolai added 17 points before fouling out late.

Marshfield led 16-8 early after a rebound and basket by Katie Osinski and a hoop from Nikolai, but from there it was a struggle.

Three-pointers by Rogan and Madelyn Mutz were key in a 12-3 run that pushed the Panthers ahead.

The lead changed hands four times before half, Point taking a 30-28 lead into the break.

Marshfield went up by one after a 3-pointer by Bryan, but Rogan scored the next eight points, and the Panthers led the rest of the way.

“I thought we came out strong and ready to go. We just gave up easy baskets, and in the first half, especially, we gave up a lot of offensive boards,” Michaelis said.

Marshfield plays at Wisconsin Rapids on Friday as part of a girls-boys doubleheader. The girls game starts at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow at approximately 7:45 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

Panthers 72, Tigers 59

Stevens Point 30 42 – 72

Marshfield 28 31 – 59

STEVENS POINT (72): Brooke Tuszka 1-4 0-2 3, Jenna Bohanski 0-1 0-0 0, Kaylin Kostuchowski 3-6 5-6 11, Halle Gregorich 2-3 5-6 10, Halle Pavelski 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Sullivan 6-11 3-5 15, Maddie Fink 0-1 0-0 0, Abby Gemza 0-3 2-2 2, Madisyn Rogan 8-13 2-2 22, Leah Earnest 2-6 0-0 4, Madelyn Mutz 2-4 0-0 5. FG: 24-53. FT: 17-23. 3-pointers: 7-16 (Rogan 4-7, Gregorich 1-1, Tuszka 1-2, Mutz 1-2, Sullivan 0-1, Fink 0-1, Earnest 0-2, Kostuchowski 0-2). Rebounds: 34 (Sullivan 6). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 3-5, 1-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.

MARSHFIELD (59): Meg Bryan 2-10 0-0 6, Kendra Tremelling 0-1 0-0 0, Jenna Jakobi 1-5 1-3 3, Corianne Johnson 5-7 0-0 12, Maddie Nikolai 6-13 5-6 17, Ema Fehrenbach 7-16 5-8 19, Katie Osinski 1-2 0-0 2, Sophie Koehn 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 22-51. FT: 11-17. 3-pointers: 4-11 (Bryan 2-6, Johnson 2-4, Nikolai 0-1). Rebounds: 29 (Fehrenbach 9). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Nikolai. Record: 1-3, 0-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.