By MMC staff

MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Tigers and SPASH Panthers went into a Jan. 24 girls/boys doubleheader in Marshfield with first place at stake in both games. The hometown crowd would not be disappointed, as Marshfield won both games at the Boson Company Fieldhouse, one in convincing fashion.

In the nightcap, the Tigers responded well to a quick start by SPASH to build a 16-point lead by halftime, and cruised to an 18-point win from there, knocking off the Panthers 57-39.

“Well, I think obviously it was our defense initially,” Marshfield Head Coach Scott Scheuer said after the win. “I think it was our effort on the defensive side, knowing who we’re guarding, picking them up as close to 84 feet as we could, and then just really making it tough for them to get into their offense.

“They run a really solid motion offense, and they get into the lane on you after a couple passes, and they’re really, really efficient. I thought we did a real good job throughout the game of keeping them out of the lane and making them have to shoot jump shots–and not only shoot jump shots, but not catch-and-shoot jump shots, but where they actually had to put it on the floor and pull up. The percentages will tell you that any time you have to put it on the floor one or two times, it’s not as high as just catch and shoot.”

The Panthers jumped out to a 5-0 lead, then Marshfield scored 10 straight points, and led by as many as 24 in the second half.

Coach Scheuer’s team took advantage of 12 Panther turnovers in the first half.

“We do some things in practice to make it a lot tougher than it would be in most games,” Scheuer added. “I put more guys on the floor and we trap, and sometimes five guys with the ball are playing against six or seven guys, and they get frustrated, and we really emphasize taking care of the ball.

“This season my guys have really bought into valuing the basketball. I wasn’t real happy with how we handled the pressure at the end. Sometimes when you look at the score, you think maybe we don’t need to be as efficient. Other than that, I thought we played a complete game.”

Addison Hill led Marshfield with 12 points. Anthony Posteluk added 11 points, and Kyle Tremelling tossed in 10 points.

Evan Vollendorf of SPASH looks for a basket during the Wisconsin Valley Conference game in Marshfield on Jan. 24. MMC staff photo.

Evan Vollendorf led SPASH with nine points. Nate Streveler added seven.

With the win, the Tigers claimed sole possession of first place in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, with a 5-1 record. The loss pushed Stevens Point into a three-way tie with Merrill and D.C. Everest at 4-2.

The girls’ contest was a lot closer, even though Marshfield led most of the way. The Tigers were able to jump out to a 14-7 lead early. SPASH hung on, though, and a 9-0 run late in the first half gave the Panthers a 23-22 lead at the halftime break. A handful of lead changes followed to start the second half. Marshfield then built a 44-35 lead, before Stevens Point used a 5-0 run to narrow the Tiger lead to four.

SPASH eventually pulled to within three with less than a minute to go, but Marshfield hung on for a 50-45 win, avenging a 78-42 loss to the Panthers in Stevens Point on Dec. 10.

Maddie Michaelis led the Tigers with 19 points, going 7-for-13 from the floor, including 5-for-10 from the three-point line. Danielle Minsaas added 13 points, while Kaydee Johnson had 10.

SPASH was led by Leah Earnest with 23.

The Marshfield win put the Tigers into a first-place tie with SPASH atop the Wisconsin Valley Conference standing at 6-1. The loss dropped the Panthers to 9-5 overall.

Both teams have big road games coming up on Feb. 6. Marshfield is at D.C. Everest, while Stevens Point plays at Merrill.