VERONA - Monroe senior Gwen Sutter and Brodhead senior Dana Lewis are AAU basketball teammates in the summer.
Come the winter and tournament time, the two are rivals. Sutter and Monroe senior Jamie Armstrong sparked the Cheesemakers to a 54-41 win over Lewis and Brodhead to win the WIAA Division 2 Verona regional championship Saturday.
"It's definitely a double-edged sword to win this game," Sutter said. "It's fun to win, but tough to beat a friend. We were excited to come back to Verona. We had a really bad game the last time we played here. We wanted to have a second shot playing in this gym."
Lewis scored a game-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds in her final prep game. She scored the Cardinals' first four points to give them a 4-3 lead.
The Cheesemakers started a 14-0 run midway through the first quarter into late in the second quarter, highlighted by Sutter's hot outside shooting. Armstrong led the Cheesemakers with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Sutter finished with 16 points and hit three 3-pointers.
The Cheesemakers move on to the WIAA Division 2 Janesville Craig sectional semifinal and play Richland Center at 7 p.m. Thursday at Waunakee.
"It's an amazing feeling," Armstrong said. "Obviously, we wanted to play another week. It's one and done now. We want to play each game like it's our last."
Armstrong blocked a shot early in the second quarter that led to Sutter's 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 7 seconds to go in the period to give the Cheesemakers a 14-4 lead. Fellow senior Chelsea Brice hit a jumper with 6:26 left in the second quarter that extended the Cheesemakers' lead to 17-4.
"We could have just given up right there and thrown in the towel, but we kept fighting," Lewis said. "We came out kind of scared like coach (Brad) Pickett said.
Lewis, who carried the Cardinals in the first half, scored down low and was fouled with 3:35 left. She converted the conventional three-point play at the free throw line to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 19-12. Lewis followed that up by grabbing an offensive rebound on the next possession, and she scored on a putback to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 19-14.
"Dana will get her points," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. "Gwen Sutter hit some 3-pointers and kind of offset Dana."
Sutter answered by drilling a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a 22-14 lead. Lewis then closed out the half by making a pass out of a double team to junior Mariah Mohns, who scored to cut the Cheesemakers' halftime lead to 22-16.
"The girls never quit," Pickett said. "That's what we always talk about. You can't ask for anything more from the way we started. We kept battling."
The Cardinals went to a 2-3 zone midway through the second quarter to try to slow down the Cheesemakers.
"If we would have had Dana out of the game, we would not have matched up well with (Ashley) Hermanson and Armstrong," Pickett said. "That's why we went to the zone. It helped us get back in the game. That's for sure."
Just like they did against Platteville in a regional semifinal, the Cheesemakers clamped down on defense in the second half and outscored the Cardinals 12-5 in the third quarter.
Armstrong drove in for a layup with 4:53 to go in the third quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 30-19 lead. Monroe junior Jaclyn Ditter, who scored eight points off the bench in the second half, helped the Cheesemakers take control. Ditter scored down low at the end of the third quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 34-21 lead.
The Cheesemakers led by as many as 18 points in the second half after Armstrong scored down low with 6:09 to go in the fourth quarter.
"Defense was the key," Keen said. "Give Brodhead credit. They fought hard and battled to the end."
Brodhead senior Amanda Johnson scored eight of her nine points in the fourth quarter. The Cheesemakers were stellar from the free throw line again and maintained their lead by hitting 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter and 20 of 25 in the game.
"They made big shots when they needed to," Pickett said. "You have to give Monroe credit. They made their free throws."
With 20.3 seconds left, Pickett made substitutions and brought Lewis off the floor for the last time.
"It would have been nice to get them once," Lewis said of Monroe and her AAU teammates, Sutter and Hermanson. "I kind of reminisced about all the girls I have played with the last few years."
Come the winter and tournament time, the two are rivals. Sutter and Monroe senior Jamie Armstrong sparked the Cheesemakers to a 54-41 win over Lewis and Brodhead to win the WIAA Division 2 Verona regional championship Saturday.
"It's definitely a double-edged sword to win this game," Sutter said. "It's fun to win, but tough to beat a friend. We were excited to come back to Verona. We had a really bad game the last time we played here. We wanted to have a second shot playing in this gym."
Lewis scored a game-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds in her final prep game. She scored the Cardinals' first four points to give them a 4-3 lead.
The Cheesemakers started a 14-0 run midway through the first quarter into late in the second quarter, highlighted by Sutter's hot outside shooting. Armstrong led the Cheesemakers with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Sutter finished with 16 points and hit three 3-pointers.
The Cheesemakers move on to the WIAA Division 2 Janesville Craig sectional semifinal and play Richland Center at 7 p.m. Thursday at Waunakee.
"It's an amazing feeling," Armstrong said. "Obviously, we wanted to play another week. It's one and done now. We want to play each game like it's our last."
Armstrong blocked a shot early in the second quarter that led to Sutter's 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 7 seconds to go in the period to give the Cheesemakers a 14-4 lead. Fellow senior Chelsea Brice hit a jumper with 6:26 left in the second quarter that extended the Cheesemakers' lead to 17-4.
"We could have just given up right there and thrown in the towel, but we kept fighting," Lewis said. "We came out kind of scared like coach (Brad) Pickett said.
Lewis, who carried the Cardinals in the first half, scored down low and was fouled with 3:35 left. She converted the conventional three-point play at the free throw line to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 19-12. Lewis followed that up by grabbing an offensive rebound on the next possession, and she scored on a putback to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 19-14.
"Dana will get her points," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. "Gwen Sutter hit some 3-pointers and kind of offset Dana."
Sutter answered by drilling a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a 22-14 lead. Lewis then closed out the half by making a pass out of a double team to junior Mariah Mohns, who scored to cut the Cheesemakers' halftime lead to 22-16.
"The girls never quit," Pickett said. "That's what we always talk about. You can't ask for anything more from the way we started. We kept battling."
The Cardinals went to a 2-3 zone midway through the second quarter to try to slow down the Cheesemakers.
"If we would have had Dana out of the game, we would not have matched up well with (Ashley) Hermanson and Armstrong," Pickett said. "That's why we went to the zone. It helped us get back in the game. That's for sure."
Just like they did against Platteville in a regional semifinal, the Cheesemakers clamped down on defense in the second half and outscored the Cardinals 12-5 in the third quarter.
Armstrong drove in for a layup with 4:53 to go in the third quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 30-19 lead. Monroe junior Jaclyn Ditter, who scored eight points off the bench in the second half, helped the Cheesemakers take control. Ditter scored down low at the end of the third quarter to give the Cheesemakers a 34-21 lead.
The Cheesemakers led by as many as 18 points in the second half after Armstrong scored down low with 6:09 to go in the fourth quarter.
"Defense was the key," Keen said. "Give Brodhead credit. They fought hard and battled to the end."
Brodhead senior Amanda Johnson scored eight of her nine points in the fourth quarter. The Cheesemakers were stellar from the free throw line again and maintained their lead by hitting 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter and 20 of 25 in the game.
"They made big shots when they needed to," Pickett said. "You have to give Monroe credit. They made their free throws."
With 20.3 seconds left, Pickett made substitutions and brought Lewis off the floor for the last time.
"It would have been nice to get them once," Lewis said of Monroe and her AAU teammates, Sutter and Hermanson. "I kind of reminisced about all the girls I have played with the last few years."
