Tiger girls earn impressive WVC win
By Hub City Times staff
MARSHFIELD – In perhaps their most-impressive win so far this season, the Marshfield Tigers girls basketball team knocked off the Wausau West Warriors 59-57 in Wisconsin Valley Conference action Jan. 13, in Wausau. The Tigers and Head Coach Taylor Varsho handed the Warriors their first conference loss of the season, after trailing by 10 points at halftime.
“The first half we came out pretty slow and kind of let Wausau West control most of the game,” Varsho said after the game. “My speech at halftime was ‘They’re getting to the line 14 times and we got to the line twice’.
By the end of the game they got to the line 28 times and we got to the line 22, so a huge difference in the game. We out-rebounded in the second half, and we definitely rebounded better in the second half. They out-rebounded us in the first half. Rebounds and free throws–those two go a long way.
“Every halftime speech and every speech before the game, it’s about those two things. If we can control our turnovers, if we can rebound the ball and we can get to the line, we have a pretty good chance of winning. At the end of the day, West is a great ball club coached by a great coach and I think we just were the tougher team tonight.”
Marshfield also did not take advantage of 10 Wausau West turnovers in the first half.
“Sometimes I think my girls are surprised we get a wide open layup,” Varsho added. “(We have) a couple things to fix there, and we have to control our turnovers obviously, but when pressure is that high our heart beats a little faster and our adrenaline kicks in, so I thought my team did a really good job.”
Kaydee Johnson led the Tigers with 24 points, including 10-for-11 from the foul line. Johnson also grabbed eight rebounds. Maddie Michaelis added 14 points for Marshfield. Desirae Weisenberger had 11 points and seven rebounds.
The win helped the Tigers improve to 6-5 overall, and 5-1 in the WVC standings. The victory also helped the Tigers leapfrog Wausau West. The Warriors stood at 4-1 after the loss to Marshfield.
The Tigers are back in WVC action on Jan. 24 in a home game with Stevens Point. That contest begins at 6 p.m., and is part of a girls/boys doubleheader. The boys’ contest follows the girls at 7:45 p.m. The Tiger girls play at Wisconsin Rapids on Jan. 28, followed by a home game with Merrill on Jan. 31.