MONROE - The Cheesemakers are trying to prove that they are not dependent on one player, even though they have a mountain of postseason awards from the last couple of seasons. So, when Sydney Hilliard went down after re-aggravating an ankle injury, all eyes turned on the rest of Monroe's girls basketball team.
"It's one of those where Thursday night's conference game is more important," head coach Sam Mathiason said after his team's decisive 65-48 win over McFarland Tuesday.
The Cheesemakers' initial response to the injury was slow, but in the end, they again proved that they are a well-rounded ball club, outscoring the Spartans 28-11 to close out the second half.
"It's one of those - you have to keep working, keep fighting, keep that energy," Mathiason said. "We had that last week (against Middleton) where we needed to play without her. The kids are capable and did a good job. It's just a matter of finding our zone."
Monroe (8-1) started hot, jumping out to a 14-5 lead less than six minutes into the game. Hilliard re-sprained her ankle and came back six minutes later with McFarland (6-3) trimming the gap to 19-15. On back-to-back possessions, the junior with multiple Division 1 scholarship offers scored in the paint while taking fouls. Hilliard had 10 points in just 10 minutes of action and left the game for good with 5:05 left in the first half and her team ahead 25-15.
"I think a lot of the struggle was that our shots just didn't fall. We had a lot of good looks," coach Mathiason said.
The Spartans clawed their way back from there. McFarland scored the next 7 points to make the fans in crimson and white nervous before Grace Tostrud hit a 3, ending a nearly five-minute scoring drought by Monroe. Emily Benzschawel added an offensive putback with 38 seconds left to make it 30-22 at the break.
"They were switching up everything on defense and clogging up the middle," senior Sydney Mathiason said. "We had to make that extra pass, and we started doing that in the second half."
McFarland freshman Katie Hildebrandt matched her career high with 15 points in the first half, while the Spartan's leading scorer, Katie Rounds, was held to just 2. In the second half, it was McFarland that came out swinging and Monroe that seemingly couldn't buy a bucket.
"We knew that (Hildebrandt) shoots a lot of 3s, and tonight she was making them," coach Mathiason said.
Rounds took off in the second half, scoring 10 of her team's next 15 points as McFarland tied it up at 37 with 10:21 to play. At that point, Sydney Mathiason and Benzschawel took over for the Cheesemakers.
"Obviously she (Hilliard) scores a lot of points," Sydney Mathiason said. "I think we'll be able to spread out the points between the rest of us to be alright."
Mathiason hit four free throws in a row to give Monroe the lead again, and Benzschawel took a steal coast-to-coast with 8:45 to play to help extend the lead. That burst helped spark Monroe's offense, which outscored McFarland 28-11 in the final 10 minutes.
"I practice my free throws a lot," said Sydney Mathiason, who finished 6-for-6 in the second half from the stripe. "It's a really important part of the game, and I'm trying to get there as much as I can."
It didn't hurt that Tostrud and Benzschawel hit three 3s in a minute and a half. The Cheesemakers had struggled from beyond the arc early in the contest, but hit eight in the game. At the free-throw line, Monroe was 17 of 19, compared to McFarland's 3 of 7.
"We were passing the ball and finding open lanes as a team," Benzschawel said.
Benzschawel led all scorers with 21 and added 11 rebounds (five offensive), Tostrud had 12 points, Sydney Mathiason had 10 points, three blocks and three steals, and Grace Mathiason added 7 points. Megan Benzschawel scored 2 points, but pulled down eight rebounds. Hildebrandt finished with 19 for McFarland, and Rounds had 18.
Monroe never trailed in the game.
"We keep talking about how defense is the key. You have to make them work and stay in front of them," coach Mathiason said. "It's a matter of being more solid and having the discipline of staying where you need to be in your different positions. When we play good defense, that's where we can make some plays on the offensive end."
Up next for the Cheesemakers, ranked No. 2 in the WisSports.net Division 2 Coaches Poll, is Madison Edgewood on Thursday. The defending Division 3 state champion Crusaders are 6-2 overall and 4-1 in conference this season and are ranked ninth in the WisSports Division 3 poll. Monroe leads the Badger South with an unblemished 5-0 record.
"We're working on everything in practice right now - ball handling, shooting, defense. It's a big game. We just have to go in with a lot of energy if we want to come out on top," Benzschawel said.
"It's one of those where Thursday night's conference game is more important," head coach Sam Mathiason said after his team's decisive 65-48 win over McFarland Tuesday.
The Cheesemakers' initial response to the injury was slow, but in the end, they again proved that they are a well-rounded ball club, outscoring the Spartans 28-11 to close out the second half.
"It's one of those - you have to keep working, keep fighting, keep that energy," Mathiason said. "We had that last week (against Middleton) where we needed to play without her. The kids are capable and did a good job. It's just a matter of finding our zone."
Monroe (8-1) started hot, jumping out to a 14-5 lead less than six minutes into the game. Hilliard re-sprained her ankle and came back six minutes later with McFarland (6-3) trimming the gap to 19-15. On back-to-back possessions, the junior with multiple Division 1 scholarship offers scored in the paint while taking fouls. Hilliard had 10 points in just 10 minutes of action and left the game for good with 5:05 left in the first half and her team ahead 25-15.
"I think a lot of the struggle was that our shots just didn't fall. We had a lot of good looks," coach Mathiason said.
The Spartans clawed their way back from there. McFarland scored the next 7 points to make the fans in crimson and white nervous before Grace Tostrud hit a 3, ending a nearly five-minute scoring drought by Monroe. Emily Benzschawel added an offensive putback with 38 seconds left to make it 30-22 at the break.
"They were switching up everything on defense and clogging up the middle," senior Sydney Mathiason said. "We had to make that extra pass, and we started doing that in the second half."
McFarland freshman Katie Hildebrandt matched her career high with 15 points in the first half, while the Spartan's leading scorer, Katie Rounds, was held to just 2. In the second half, it was McFarland that came out swinging and Monroe that seemingly couldn't buy a bucket.
"We knew that (Hildebrandt) shoots a lot of 3s, and tonight she was making them," coach Mathiason said.
Rounds took off in the second half, scoring 10 of her team's next 15 points as McFarland tied it up at 37 with 10:21 to play. At that point, Sydney Mathiason and Benzschawel took over for the Cheesemakers.
"Obviously she (Hilliard) scores a lot of points," Sydney Mathiason said. "I think we'll be able to spread out the points between the rest of us to be alright."
Mathiason hit four free throws in a row to give Monroe the lead again, and Benzschawel took a steal coast-to-coast with 8:45 to play to help extend the lead. That burst helped spark Monroe's offense, which outscored McFarland 28-11 in the final 10 minutes.
"I practice my free throws a lot," said Sydney Mathiason, who finished 6-for-6 in the second half from the stripe. "It's a really important part of the game, and I'm trying to get there as much as I can."
It didn't hurt that Tostrud and Benzschawel hit three 3s in a minute and a half. The Cheesemakers had struggled from beyond the arc early in the contest, but hit eight in the game. At the free-throw line, Monroe was 17 of 19, compared to McFarland's 3 of 7.
"We were passing the ball and finding open lanes as a team," Benzschawel said.
Benzschawel led all scorers with 21 and added 11 rebounds (five offensive), Tostrud had 12 points, Sydney Mathiason had 10 points, three blocks and three steals, and Grace Mathiason added 7 points. Megan Benzschawel scored 2 points, but pulled down eight rebounds. Hildebrandt finished with 19 for McFarland, and Rounds had 18.
Monroe never trailed in the game.
"We keep talking about how defense is the key. You have to make them work and stay in front of them," coach Mathiason said. "It's a matter of being more solid and having the discipline of staying where you need to be in your different positions. When we play good defense, that's where we can make some plays on the offensive end."
Up next for the Cheesemakers, ranked No. 2 in the WisSports.net Division 2 Coaches Poll, is Madison Edgewood on Thursday. The defending Division 3 state champion Crusaders are 6-2 overall and 4-1 in conference this season and are ranked ninth in the WisSports Division 3 poll. Monroe leads the Badger South with an unblemished 5-0 record.
"We're working on everything in practice right now - ball handling, shooting, defense. It's a big game. We just have to go in with a lot of energy if we want to come out on top," Benzschawel said.
