This story is sponsored by: Premier Home Lending
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield girls basketball team has been on the bad end of some lopsided losses, lost a number of close games and lately, won a few close ones too.
One thing hasn’t changed throughout the up-and-down season for the Tigers – the goal of winning the Wisconsin Valley Conference title.
With the chance at the championship on the line Tuesday, the Tigers came through with a hard-fought 47-44 win over first-place D.C. Everest at The Boson Company Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
Everest stormed back from a 10-point deficit in the first quarter to take the lead with 3 minutes to go, but Marshfield regrouped and finished the game on a 13-8 run to knock off the Evergreens.
Marshfield is now 9-7 overall and 6-2 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, and climbs to within a game of D.C. Everest (15-2, 7-1 WVC) for first place with four conference games remaining.
Marshfield used a 2-3 zone defense to try to bottle up the middle and force the Evergreens to win from the outside. It worked, as Everest was just 12 of 43 from the field.
“You can see what (Everest 6-foot-3 center Taylor) Hodell can do and you feel that a lot goes through her,” Marshfield coach Heidi Michaelis said. “If you can make her work extra hard to get touches, we felt we could do a better of job of handling her.
“It took them a little bit off-guard and our kids did a really good job covering up both outside and inside for a lot of the game.”
Marshfield ran out to a 13-3 lead in the first quarter and led 27-22 at halftime behind 11 points from junior guard Caitlin Michaelis, who hit three 3-pointers in the opening half.
Ellie Fehrenbach scored on the opening possession of the second half to push the Tigers’ lead to seven before Everest pumped up its defensive pressure to get back in the game.
Marshfield didn’t score for the next 8 minutes and fell behind 30-29 at the end of the third quarter following a basket by Makayla Pagel with 2:18 to go in the period.
Fehrenbach ended the scoreless drought with two free throws 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Everest scored the next two baskets and went ahead 34-31.
Marshfield has found itself in that position before and came out with various results. On Tuesday, the Tigers beared down on defense themselves and were able to stay within striking distance.
Michaelis hit a 3-point to tie the game and after neither team scored for 3 minutes, Everest went back ahead on a pair of free throws from 6-foot-3 center Taylor Hodell with 3:02 remaining.
Fehrenbach tied the game with two free throws 16 seconds later and Ellie Kummer’s drive and hoop put Marshfield back on top 38-36 with 2:10 left. The Tigers led the rest of the way.
McKayla Scheuer drilled a 3-pointer – her only basket of the game – to push Marshfield’s lead to 41-37 with 1:26 to go and Michaelis made five of six from the free throw line as Everest got no closer than two.
“What I am most proud of is that they were able to battle back,” Heidi Michaelis said. “When we got down three after being ahead the entire game, they hit some big important shots to finish the game out, and make some big free throws. That’s huge for this team.
“It’s always been our goal. The goal of being conference champs is still out there. When you are down two games coming in, you can control what you can control, which is us and then the way we play. Now we hope someone else can get a win against them.”
Michaelis finished with 19 points and five rebounds and Fehrenbach had 12 points for the Tigers.
Hodell scored 17 points, making 9 of 9 from the free throw line, but was just 4 of 10 from the field.
Tigers 47, Evergreens 44
D.C. Everest 6 16 8 14 – 44
Marshfield 13 14 2 18 – 47
D.C. EVEREST (44): Hannah Tipple 0-3 4-6 4, Haley Kroll 0-5 2-2 2, Mali Theiss 0-3 0-1 0, Emily Bauman 0-2 0-0 0, Katelyn Schmoll 1-3 0-0 2, Mackenzie Mathies 3-12 1-1 8, Makayla Pagel 4-5 3-6 11, Taylor Hodell 4-10 9-9 17. FG: 12-43. FT: 19-25. 3-pointers: 1-14 (Mathies 1-7, Kroll 0-5, Bauman 0-1, Schmoll 0-1). Rebounds: 24 (Hodell 7). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: none. Record: 15-2, 7-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (47): McKayla Scheuer 1-2 2-2 5, Caitlin Michaelis 4-8 7-8 19, Natalie Zuelke 1-2 0-0 2, Ellie Kummer 1-8 3-4 5, Ema Fehrenbach 1-2 2-4 4, Lauren Gilbertson 0-1 0-0 0, Ellie Fehrenbach 3-8 6-7 12, Kailey Hubler 0-2 0-0 0. FG: 11-33. FT: 20-25. 3-pointers: 5-11 (Michaelis 4-6, Scheuer 1-2, Kummer 0-2, El. Fehrenbach 0-1). Rebounds: 21 (Michaelis 5). Turnover: 15. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Zuelke. Record: 9-7, 6-2 Wisconsin Valley Conference.