MONROE - Gwen Sutter admitted nothing came easy in a grinding 45-32 girls basketball WIAA regional semifinal victory Thursday over Mount Horeb.
But afterward, the Cheesemaker point guard's grimaces were long gone as a grin formed and a reassuring statement came out.
"The twin towers are back," Sutter said.
Sophomore Jamie Armstrong returned on a still-tender right ankle and combined with classmate and fellow 6-footer Ashley Hermanson to score 31 of Monroe's 45 points.
The duo tandemed for 10 points in both the first and fourth quarters, despite Armstrong not starting the ballgame. The first-quarter flurry was dire as a 16-10 lead through one quarter quickly became 18-18 with just more than a minute left in the first half. An Olivia Colonero jumper that tied the score was set up by Courtney Murray's penetration and kick to the left wing, where the junior banged home a 15-footer.
Monroe scored just one field goal over a 10-minute span thatbled into the second half as the Vikings' zone denied any easy access to the paint.
On the other end of the floor, the opposite was the case.
"We struggled in the second quarter both offensively and defensively," Keen said. "We gave up way too much dribble penetration and let them get to the basket."
The Cheesemakers went to a zone scheme in the second half, but Murray gave Horeb its first lead at 23-22 since 4-3 with two strips of Armstrong under the hoop on the same play and a runout layup on the other end. The Vikings forward led her club's balanced attack with eight points.
But junior Emily Rufenacht hung and hit a baseline runner and assisted on a Sutter 3-pointer from right of the circle two minutes later to take a 29-25 lead with less than two minutes left in the third.
Armstrong scored four points in less than a minute down the stretch to lock down the victory. She first took a lob from Rufenacht to score, before cleaning up a front-end free-throw miss and putting it home off glass.
The Cheesemakers hit 12 of their 15 free-throw tries, with Armstrong leading the way at 6-for-6 and refusing to shy away from the physical component of play.
"I knew there was a chance I'd make it worse if I played timid on (the ankle)," Armstrong said. "so I just went out and did what I do normally."
Now that the starting lineup should be back to normal, Sutter is looking forward to the rediscovered chemistry of the twin towers and their court general.
"They've got such a bond where they know where each other is at," Sutter said. "The three of us have been playing together for so many years."
Keen, much like his boys coach counterpart Pat Murphy, would play man-to-man defense exclusively if it gave his club the best chance to win. Thursday, he had to reach into his holster for a tool that, fortunately, his young club sharpened during the tail end of the regular season and even in Tuesday's first-round victory.
"We played it several times down the stretch," Keen said. "This time of the year it's whatever it takes because it's one and done every day."
"This was one of those grind-it-out type wins where nothing came easy, but I'm proud of the effort."
But afterward, the Cheesemaker point guard's grimaces were long gone as a grin formed and a reassuring statement came out.
"The twin towers are back," Sutter said.
Sophomore Jamie Armstrong returned on a still-tender right ankle and combined with classmate and fellow 6-footer Ashley Hermanson to score 31 of Monroe's 45 points.
The duo tandemed for 10 points in both the first and fourth quarters, despite Armstrong not starting the ballgame. The first-quarter flurry was dire as a 16-10 lead through one quarter quickly became 18-18 with just more than a minute left in the first half. An Olivia Colonero jumper that tied the score was set up by Courtney Murray's penetration and kick to the left wing, where the junior banged home a 15-footer.
Monroe scored just one field goal over a 10-minute span thatbled into the second half as the Vikings' zone denied any easy access to the paint.
On the other end of the floor, the opposite was the case.
"We struggled in the second quarter both offensively and defensively," Keen said. "We gave up way too much dribble penetration and let them get to the basket."
The Cheesemakers went to a zone scheme in the second half, but Murray gave Horeb its first lead at 23-22 since 4-3 with two strips of Armstrong under the hoop on the same play and a runout layup on the other end. The Vikings forward led her club's balanced attack with eight points.
But junior Emily Rufenacht hung and hit a baseline runner and assisted on a Sutter 3-pointer from right of the circle two minutes later to take a 29-25 lead with less than two minutes left in the third.
Armstrong scored four points in less than a minute down the stretch to lock down the victory. She first took a lob from Rufenacht to score, before cleaning up a front-end free-throw miss and putting it home off glass.
The Cheesemakers hit 12 of their 15 free-throw tries, with Armstrong leading the way at 6-for-6 and refusing to shy away from the physical component of play.
"I knew there was a chance I'd make it worse if I played timid on (the ankle)," Armstrong said. "so I just went out and did what I do normally."
Now that the starting lineup should be back to normal, Sutter is looking forward to the rediscovered chemistry of the twin towers and their court general.
"They've got such a bond where they know where each other is at," Sutter said. "The three of us have been playing together for so many years."
Keen, much like his boys coach counterpart Pat Murphy, would play man-to-man defense exclusively if it gave his club the best chance to win. Thursday, he had to reach into his holster for a tool that, fortunately, his young club sharpened during the tail end of the regular season and even in Tuesday's first-round victory.
"We played it several times down the stretch," Keen said. "This time of the year it's whatever it takes because it's one and done every day."
"This was one of those grind-it-out type wins where nothing came easy, but I'm proud of the effort."
