Hodag Highlights: Lady Hodags survive, advance in playoff tourney

The postseason opener for the Rhinelander High School girls basketball team brought Pulaski to the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Friday night. The Red Raiders squad had earned its trip north by dispatching Antigo earlier in the week. The visitors came armed with a suffocating 1-3-1 trapping zone designed to rattle and disrupt — and for a few early possessions it did exactly that.
The Hodags, though, are quick studies. They worked through the pressure, found gaps in the trap, and turned composure into points. By halftime Rhinelander had assembled a commanding 23–10 lead, methodically cracking open a defense that had looked imposing early.
The second half was not without drama. Pulaski clawed the margin back to nine on a pair of occasions, generating enough tension to keep the home crowd leaning forward. But each time the Red Raiders threatened, the Hodags answered — not just with baskets but with the kind of pressure-induced turnovers that turn momentum into momentum swings. Rhinelander’s own defensive intensity made sure the game never truly slipped away.
The final buzzer read 42–27, and with it came something the program had not tasted since 2023: a tournament victory.
Saturday night in Marinette was a different animal entirely. The Marines deployed the same 1-3-1 trap that Pulaski had used the night before, but Rhinelander — already familiar — answered immediately. The Hodags scored early and briefly held the lead, a promising sign against a host team playing for a championship. Then the three-pointers started falling. Marinette, a team that had not built its season on deep shooting, suddenly couldn’t miss from beyond the arc. The Marines drained nine three-pointers on the night, many of them from distances that left defenders stunned. It was an uncharacteristic performance that flipped the game’s complexion entirely.

Marinette led 21–14 at the break and pushed the advantage out to eleven points in the second half. For a stretch it looked as though the Hodags’ tournament run might end right there on the Marines’ home floor.
It didn’t.
Midway through the second half, Rhinelander began grinding. Point by point, possession by possession, the deficit shrank. Lexi Beran, Vivian Lamers, and Teagan Clark became a turnover-generating machine in the backcourt when the Hodags needed stops most.
The sequence that may be remembered longest unfolded in the game’s closing minutes. Teagan Clark knifed in for a steal and converted the layup — the ball rattled out — but Beran was already crashing the glass. She grabbed the offensive rebound, put it back through the net, and was fouled in the process. Beran converted the free throw, delivering three points the hard way on a single possession that swung the game’s emotional weight entirely. Aubryn Clark was ice at the line when the Marines were forced to foul, converting free throws that pushed Rhinelander’s lead to four. Marinette’s desperation shots began rolling off the rim. An over-and-back call handed the Hodags the ball with time running thin. The final score: 47–43, Rhinelander. Aubryn Clark finished with 20 points as the game’s top scorer. Teagan Clark chipped in 12. Lexi Beran scored 9 and hauled down 8 rebounds, her hustle encapsulating everything the Hodags needed to survive.
Rhinelander will face Shawano in a sectional semifinal Thursday evening. The game is scheduled to be played in Antigo.