Dynamic Rangel, Franklin return to state
When Ron Hibben looked over what Franklin had coming back for the 202021 season, he decided that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least apply for the open head coaching position.
Now nearly a year later, that instinctive feeling Hibben had will pay off as he walks the sideline during the WIAA Division 1 girls basketball state tournament during the Sabers' first appearance since 2007.
Don't get it confused, though, Hibben, will tell you; the elixir that helped Franklin finally kick the doors down after years of knocking was a uniquely talented, veteran group.
“I decided if I didn't apply for the job then I couldn't complain that I got it,” said Hibben, who was an assistant for 25 years at Franklin before getting the head job this season. “I couldn't be more proud of the ladies and how they've adapted to a strange season with everything going on. Time and time again, they've been in tough spots and they've responded.”
The third-seeded Sabers will have another chance to respond to a challenge when they face No. 2 Hudson at 2:10 p.m. Saturday in Oshkosh for a state semifinal, looking for the program's first win at state since losing the 1999 D1 final.
The Sabers' key
There is no doubt who leads the charge for the Sabers: it's senior point guard Olivia Rangel.
Rangel, a career 1,408-point scorer, is the driving force for Franklin on both ends. She leads the team in scoring (19.2), assists (3.9) and steals (2.8) per game and has picked her play up in the postseason, averaging 22.3 points and scoring at least 20 in all four games.
“She'll do whatever is possible,” Hibben said. “She dribble penetrates, she passes, she's only 5-7 but she scores over bigger defenders, she hits the pullup jumper and she can shoot the three.”
A player like Rangel, the 2020 Southeast Conference player of the year, is a coach's dream. Despite all of her skill, her most important attribute may be her feel for the game, which allows her to run the offense in workmanlike fashion and jump passing lanes in Franklin's aggressive, trapping defense.
“It's what you can't teach,” Hibben said. “She has an inane feel for the court and where her teammates are going so she can be finding people open at certain times. You're amazed at times what she does, firing off one-handed fullcourt passes or knowing where a kid on the other team is going to pass before they even know they're going to pass there.”
Rangel's production has also been critical for Franklin this year. In the 15 games the Sabers have won, she is averaging 20.6 ppg; in their five losses that figure dips to 15.2.
"I don't know where we'd be without her,” Hibben said after Rangel's 25point outing in the sectional final last Saturday.
Finally breaking through
To get to where they are, the Sabers first had to clear an Oak Creek-sized hurdle.
Franklin entered the season having lost 17 straight games to their biggest rival, including three of those coming as season-enders in the playoffs. Time and time again, the Sabers would come lose to breaking through but couldn't ever finish the job.
Before Hibben's first game against the Knights as head coach in December, he told the team the story of the late Kevin Greene, the Green Bay Packers outside linebackers coach, who told linebacker Clay Matthews before the start of the fourth quarter in Super Bowl XLV, “it is time.” Matthews famously helped force a fumble on the very next play that helped turn the tide and led to a touchdown as the Packers won the game.
Hibben's message to Franklin was the same.
“I said it's time to step up and make the plays we need to make and beat them finally,” he said.
The Sabers nearly did just that the next day but came up short in a sevenpoint loss. Later in the season as Oak Creek visited Franklin, the Sabers jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half only to see it wilt away into the Knights' 19th straight victory in the rivalry. The results were the same as usual, but the mentality for Franklin had changed.
“We sort of took that, ‘It's time' speech as our mantra for the year, but the girls made it their own and started saying, ‘It's our time,'” Hibben said. “We played some really tough non-conference teams and we were the underdogs usually, but the girls started walking out there not hoping to win but expecting to.”
The breakthrough moment came at the right time for the Sabers as they were the ones rallying from a deficit to beat top-seeded Oak Creek in the regional final, 55-51.
They handled Kenosha Indian Trail with ease the following round. Then Rangel led the charge as they beat DSHA, 57-54, in the sectional final with a range of other Sabers stepping up in key moments. Gabby Gawlitta had nine points, Sophie Hoffman hit just her sixth three of the year in a big moment and Madilynn Grulkowski's free throws with under five minutes to play gave Franklin a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
“Everybody seems to step up at a different time,” Hibben said. “They have become cohesive. Everyone knows their role and that's a big part of this run we're on.”
Franklin at a glance
Coach: Ron Hibben, first season Record: 15-5
Key players: Olivia Rangel, 5-7, sr., G, 19.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.8 spg; Gabby Gawlitta, 6-0, sr., F, 10.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg; Kennedy Boll, 5-5, sr., G, 7.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg; Taylor Wojcinski, 5-8, soph., G, 7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg; Macy Harris, 5-4, sr., G, 7.0 ppg; Natalie Meaux, 5-5, fr., G, 4.7 ppg; Madilynn Grulkowski, 5-8, jr., G, 4.1 ppg