MONROE - The Monroe High School freshman girls basketball team may have just picked up the biggest victory of all last week - not by winning a game, but by elevating an opponent to new heights in a show of compassion and sportsmanship.
The Cheseemakers were set to host Stoughton Friday night. When the girls played the Vikings earlier this season, a Stoughton player with special needs got some playing time and shot a 3-pointer, Monroe freshman coach Ashley Hermanson said.
The positive reaction to the player's shot got the Monroe coach and her girls thinking. They decided they would propose a special type of game the next time Monroe took on Stoughton.
So Thursday, Hermanson emailed Stoughton's coach Cassie Paulsen and suggested a special, reserve game to allow athletes who normally don't get a chance on the court some time to play.
"I was all for it," Paulsen wrote in a heart-felt email to Monroe High School. "I have a high-functioning autistic player so I knew this was a great opportunity to not only get her playing time, but give her a start."
Paulsen said the girl, named Katie, was nervous before the game but Monroe players joined the coach in offering encouraging words.
It worked. Katie took 27 shots and made five 3-pointers.
The crowd went wild.
"When she hit her first 3 - it felt like the game-winning shot of a state title game in that gym," Paulsen wrote, describing how Stoughton and Monroe fans alike cheered and clapped for Katie.
The Monroe players were thrilled as well.
"My girls, honestly, started to cry when she hit her first 3," Hermanson said. "They were excited for her."
Paulsen said what Hermanson and her Monroe squad did for Katie and her family will never be forgotten. "Her dad gave me a big hug after the game to thank me, and I told him "No, thank Monroe.'
"Friday wasn't a game about winning or losing - it was a game about giving a great kid the opportunity to shine. Friday night is truly the highlight in my young coaching career and one that will stick with me for the rest of my life."
It was a highlight for Hermanson as well. This is her first year coaching, but Hermanson is no newcomer to the Monroe basketball program: The 2010 Monroe High School graduate was a stand-out basketball player in the program, earning first-team all-conference status and reaching 1,000 points her senior year. That year, the Cheesemakers rode the momentum of an undefeated conference season all the way to the state semifinal game. Hermanson graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2014 and now works for a car dealership in Janesville. She coached girls tennis in the fall, and then signed on to lead the freshman girls.
"It's been a blast," she said. "We have a great group of girls" that is currently 15-5. They close out their season next Thursday against Edgewood at home.
While the coach saw her share of victories as a player, Hermanson said, she never experienced a game like the one Friday night.
"It was a unique opportunity for me," she said. "It was very humbling.
"I hope everybody has a chance to experience a game like that."
The Cheseemakers were set to host Stoughton Friday night. When the girls played the Vikings earlier this season, a Stoughton player with special needs got some playing time and shot a 3-pointer, Monroe freshman coach Ashley Hermanson said.
The positive reaction to the player's shot got the Monroe coach and her girls thinking. They decided they would propose a special type of game the next time Monroe took on Stoughton.
So Thursday, Hermanson emailed Stoughton's coach Cassie Paulsen and suggested a special, reserve game to allow athletes who normally don't get a chance on the court some time to play.
"I was all for it," Paulsen wrote in a heart-felt email to Monroe High School. "I have a high-functioning autistic player so I knew this was a great opportunity to not only get her playing time, but give her a start."
Paulsen said the girl, named Katie, was nervous before the game but Monroe players joined the coach in offering encouraging words.
It worked. Katie took 27 shots and made five 3-pointers.
The crowd went wild.
"When she hit her first 3 - it felt like the game-winning shot of a state title game in that gym," Paulsen wrote, describing how Stoughton and Monroe fans alike cheered and clapped for Katie.
The Monroe players were thrilled as well.
"My girls, honestly, started to cry when she hit her first 3," Hermanson said. "They were excited for her."
Paulsen said what Hermanson and her Monroe squad did for Katie and her family will never be forgotten. "Her dad gave me a big hug after the game to thank me, and I told him "No, thank Monroe.'
"Friday wasn't a game about winning or losing - it was a game about giving a great kid the opportunity to shine. Friday night is truly the highlight in my young coaching career and one that will stick with me for the rest of my life."
It was a highlight for Hermanson as well. This is her first year coaching, but Hermanson is no newcomer to the Monroe basketball program: The 2010 Monroe High School graduate was a stand-out basketball player in the program, earning first-team all-conference status and reaching 1,000 points her senior year. That year, the Cheesemakers rode the momentum of an undefeated conference season all the way to the state semifinal game. Hermanson graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2014 and now works for a car dealership in Janesville. She coached girls tennis in the fall, and then signed on to lead the freshman girls.
"It's been a blast," she said. "We have a great group of girls" that is currently 15-5. They close out their season next Thursday against Edgewood at home.
While the coach saw her share of victories as a player, Hermanson said, she never experienced a game like the one Friday night.
"It was a unique opportunity for me," she said. "It was very humbling.
"I hope everybody has a chance to experience a game like that."