OREGON - The Monroe girls basketball team got a chance for a do-over Saturday night, and the Cheesemakers made the most of it.
Just two nights after a rough third quarter was a major factor in a loss to Madison Edgewood, the Cheesemakers saw a big half-time lead start slipping away quickly against the host Oregon Panthers.
But this time, Monroe mounted an impressive counteroffensive and rolled to a 54-32 victory in Badger South Conference play, using what coach Sam Mathiason deemed one of the Cheesemakers' most complete efforts of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.
"We talked about trying to relax and get back out there and remember to do the things we'd been doing," Mathiason said. "We talked about trying to play a solid team game on both the offensive and defensive end, and I thought we did a real nice job of that."
Guards Briana Katzenberger and Molly Hlubek had season highs with 12 and 11 points, respectively, and forward Brooke McBain added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Monroe (4-11, 2-6 Badger South).
Katzenberger was especially effective early, hitting three of four 3-point attempts in the first half, when the Cheesemakers rolled to leads of 15-7 after one quarter and 35-15 entering halftime.
"It's one of those things where she got some open looks and was able to knock them down, and that's when you get a lot of confidence," Mathiason said of Katzenberger, whose previous season high was eight points.
Oregon (3-10, 2-5) was playing without sophomore forward Maddie Gits, who scored 20 points in the Panthers' 48-46 victory in Monroe on Dec. 10. But that didn't stop the Panthers from making a charge in the third quarter, when they used an 8-1 spurt to pull within 36-23 midway through.
This time, though, forward Abbey Foulker put a stop to the opponent's run by completing a three-point play.
"She did a good job getting a rebound, put it in and was fouled," Mathiason said. "It was a big play by Abbey."
The Cheesemakers picked up their play from there and outscored the Panthers 14-6 in the fourth quarter, when six different players scored points for Monroe.
Mathiason said Hlubek, whose previous season high was nine points, did much more for the Cheesemakers than score. She also had seven rebounds - several of them in key spots.
"Molly was kind of looking for her shot a little bit more and kind of stuck with it," Mathiason said. "I thought she carried her game over from Thursday against Edgewood and really battled in a lot of ways for us by just making a lot of those hustle plays. She was able to extend four different possessions for us by getting offensive rebounds. That goes a long way toward making the team be successful."
Forward Taylor Barrett and guard Vanessa Studer each added eight rebounds for Monroe, and Studer had a team-high six assists.
"Hopefully we can use this as a little springboard," said Mathiason, whose team hits the road twice this week - Tuesday at DeForest and Friday at Waunakee.
Just two nights after a rough third quarter was a major factor in a loss to Madison Edgewood, the Cheesemakers saw a big half-time lead start slipping away quickly against the host Oregon Panthers.
But this time, Monroe mounted an impressive counteroffensive and rolled to a 54-32 victory in Badger South Conference play, using what coach Sam Mathiason deemed one of the Cheesemakers' most complete efforts of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.
"We talked about trying to relax and get back out there and remember to do the things we'd been doing," Mathiason said. "We talked about trying to play a solid team game on both the offensive and defensive end, and I thought we did a real nice job of that."
Guards Briana Katzenberger and Molly Hlubek had season highs with 12 and 11 points, respectively, and forward Brooke McBain added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Monroe (4-11, 2-6 Badger South).
Katzenberger was especially effective early, hitting three of four 3-point attempts in the first half, when the Cheesemakers rolled to leads of 15-7 after one quarter and 35-15 entering halftime.
"It's one of those things where she got some open looks and was able to knock them down, and that's when you get a lot of confidence," Mathiason said of Katzenberger, whose previous season high was eight points.
Oregon (3-10, 2-5) was playing without sophomore forward Maddie Gits, who scored 20 points in the Panthers' 48-46 victory in Monroe on Dec. 10. But that didn't stop the Panthers from making a charge in the third quarter, when they used an 8-1 spurt to pull within 36-23 midway through.
This time, though, forward Abbey Foulker put a stop to the opponent's run by completing a three-point play.
"She did a good job getting a rebound, put it in and was fouled," Mathiason said. "It was a big play by Abbey."
The Cheesemakers picked up their play from there and outscored the Panthers 14-6 in the fourth quarter, when six different players scored points for Monroe.
Mathiason said Hlubek, whose previous season high was nine points, did much more for the Cheesemakers than score. She also had seven rebounds - several of them in key spots.
"Molly was kind of looking for her shot a little bit more and kind of stuck with it," Mathiason said. "I thought she carried her game over from Thursday against Edgewood and really battled in a lot of ways for us by just making a lot of those hustle plays. She was able to extend four different possessions for us by getting offensive rebounds. That goes a long way toward making the team be successful."
Forward Taylor Barrett and guard Vanessa Studer each added eight rebounds for Monroe, and Studer had a team-high six assists.
"Hopefully we can use this as a little springboard," said Mathiason, whose team hits the road twice this week - Tuesday at DeForest and Friday at Waunakee.
