While the Raiders roared out to an early lead, Baraboo chipped away at it for a 48-43 win Nov. 29 at Lincoln High School.
Wisconsin Rapids (0-1) outscored the Thunderbirds 15-5 in the first quarter but only managed 16 points over the next two periods.
“We came out with a lot of intensity and our defensive pressure was really good,” Raiders coach Dan Hancock said. “We were rebounding well early in the game. Hailey (Frank) hit a couple of threes early in the game which let us relax a bit.”
Kathy WilliamsWisconsin Rapids Elizabeth Morrison contests a shot by Baraboo’s Samantha Terry during the 48-43 Baraboo win in Wisconsin Rapids on Nov. 29
Frank opened the game with a pair of three-point shots. By the time Baraboo called timeout with 5:28 left in the opening quarter, the Raiders were up 10-0 after hitting all four field goal attempts. Baraboo didn’t score until 3:27 was left in the quarter.
Frank finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Nicole Slovensky had 11 points and five steals while Mariah Richardson scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
Baraboo (1-0) was led by Samantha Terry with 15 points despite only playing in less than three quarters. The 6-foot junior forward, who led the team in scoring as a sophomore last year with 15.4 points per game, injured her right knee with a little more than 2 minutes left in the third quarter and had to be carted off in an ambulance.
While the game was delayed with Terry’s injury, a Baraboo fan also needed medical attention and left in an ambulance. All totalled, the game was delayed about 45 minutes.
“It is hard to think about basketball right now with Sam’s injury and the man in the stands who had a heart attack,” Hancock said. “Sam’s going to be a good D-1 player and she is a junior so she can come back from the injury.”
After shooting 6-for-10 from the field in the first quarter, the Raiders’ field goal percentage plummeted to 38 percent as Baraboo slowly took over the game.
With 5:31 left in the third quarter, Baraboo’s Emily Brinker hit a three-point shot to give the Thunderbirds a 28-27 lead, their first in the game.
“Our intensity changed,” Raiders senior Nicole Slovensky said. “We were ready to go and they weren’t. Then they came out in the second half ready to play and we came out flat.”
The Raiders made a late run — they outscored Baraboo 12-10 in the fourth quarter — but the closest Wisconsin Rapids came to the lead was 41-40 with about 2:30 left in the game on a basket bay Slovensky.
“You could feel the momentum shift,” Raiders senior Shelby Steinke said. “They had it and then we started to make a couple of plays and got it back but we couldn’t finish.”
Baraboo’s persistence shows how good a team it is, Hancock said.
“Give Baraboo credit, they came back,” he said.
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