MONROE - Every time Watertown made a big shot, the Monroe girls basketball team responded like a conference champion.
On more than six occasions, Watertown sliced Monroe's lead to single digits in the second half. Every time the Cheesemakers answered and pulled out a 70-58 win Tuesday. Monroe sophomore Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals. With the win, Monroe (16-2, 10-0 Badger South), ranked No. 4 in Division 2 in both the Associated Press and WisSports.net Coaches polls, moves one win against Stoughton Friday away from clinching at least a share of a second straight conference championship.
"I knew they would come out scrappy and really want to beat us," Hilliard said. "We always have that (winning conference) in the back of our mind when we play conference teams. We want to get the conference every time we can each season."
The Goslings erased a 14-point deficit at the half. Watertown senior Lauren Burd drilled six 3-pointers and scored 21 of her team-high 23 points in the second half. Burd and Watertown junior Jenna Koepp combined to make nine 3s in the second half. Koepp knocked down a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second half to cut the Cheesemakers' advantage to 54-52.
Monroe senior Sydney Mathiason, who added 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks, answered by knocking down a 3-pointer to ignite an 8-1 run. Hilliard scored on a layup and junior Emily Benzschawel had a steal and layup to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 62-52 with 2:11 to go.
"They (Koepp and Burd) are really good shooters," Hilliard said. "When they are hot their offense really flows and they are really confident on the defensive end. They were really working when they were hitting those 3s."
The Goslings cut the Cheesemakers' lead to nine points or less twice in the final 1:06, but the Cheesemakers made 8 of 8 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory. Monroe sophomore Grace Tostrud was 4 of 4 from the line during that critical stretch and the Cheesemakers finished 17 of 20 from the charity stripe in the game. The Goslings made 10 three-pointers and at one point in the second half, hit a 3 in six of eight possessions.
"We know everyone will give us their best shot," coach Mathiason said. "We knew Burd and Koepp were good scorers and could shoot the 3. We gave up a lot of points in the second half. I don't think our defense was terrible. They just hit shots. When they got it to two points, I thought our kids responded really well and kept their composure. We knocked down free throws down the stretch."
Early on, the Cheesemakers got off to a slow start against the Goslings' 1-3-1 zone hitting just 2 of 10 shots in the first 6 minutes and trailed Watertown 9-8 early on. The Cheesemakers responded with an 18-5 run fueled by 3-pointers from Sydney Mathiason, Emily Benzschawel and a three-point play by Hilliard to take a 24-14 lead with 2:14 left in the first half.
Monroe sophomore Grace Mathiason gave the Cheesemakers a boost hitting two 3-pointers in the first half. Tostrud scored down low late in the first half to give the Cheesemakers a 30-16 lead at the break.
That set the stage for a dramatic second half. Emily Benzschawel finished with 11 points and had four steals. The Goslings committed 14 turnovers. The Cheesemakers made nine 3-pointers - Sydney Mathiason knocked down four 3s and Hilliard and Grace Mathiason each hit two.
Sam Mathiason said the players just had to keep finding the holes in the zone and keep moving the ball.
"It's a game of percentages," he said. "If we kept getting those good shots you knew they would go in. You see the ball go in and you get a little bounce and that gives you energy. It rubs off on everyone else. I think our kids did a really good job of responding when the game got close."
On more than six occasions, Watertown sliced Monroe's lead to single digits in the second half. Every time the Cheesemakers answered and pulled out a 70-58 win Tuesday. Monroe sophomore Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals. With the win, Monroe (16-2, 10-0 Badger South), ranked No. 4 in Division 2 in both the Associated Press and WisSports.net Coaches polls, moves one win against Stoughton Friday away from clinching at least a share of a second straight conference championship.
"I knew they would come out scrappy and really want to beat us," Hilliard said. "We always have that (winning conference) in the back of our mind when we play conference teams. We want to get the conference every time we can each season."
The Goslings erased a 14-point deficit at the half. Watertown senior Lauren Burd drilled six 3-pointers and scored 21 of her team-high 23 points in the second half. Burd and Watertown junior Jenna Koepp combined to make nine 3s in the second half. Koepp knocked down a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second half to cut the Cheesemakers' advantage to 54-52.
Monroe senior Sydney Mathiason, who added 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks, answered by knocking down a 3-pointer to ignite an 8-1 run. Hilliard scored on a layup and junior Emily Benzschawel had a steal and layup to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 62-52 with 2:11 to go.
"They (Koepp and Burd) are really good shooters," Hilliard said. "When they are hot their offense really flows and they are really confident on the defensive end. They were really working when they were hitting those 3s."
The Goslings cut the Cheesemakers' lead to nine points or less twice in the final 1:06, but the Cheesemakers made 8 of 8 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory. Monroe sophomore Grace Tostrud was 4 of 4 from the line during that critical stretch and the Cheesemakers finished 17 of 20 from the charity stripe in the game. The Goslings made 10 three-pointers and at one point in the second half, hit a 3 in six of eight possessions.
"We know everyone will give us their best shot," coach Mathiason said. "We knew Burd and Koepp were good scorers and could shoot the 3. We gave up a lot of points in the second half. I don't think our defense was terrible. They just hit shots. When they got it to two points, I thought our kids responded really well and kept their composure. We knocked down free throws down the stretch."
Early on, the Cheesemakers got off to a slow start against the Goslings' 1-3-1 zone hitting just 2 of 10 shots in the first 6 minutes and trailed Watertown 9-8 early on. The Cheesemakers responded with an 18-5 run fueled by 3-pointers from Sydney Mathiason, Emily Benzschawel and a three-point play by Hilliard to take a 24-14 lead with 2:14 left in the first half.
Monroe sophomore Grace Mathiason gave the Cheesemakers a boost hitting two 3-pointers in the first half. Tostrud scored down low late in the first half to give the Cheesemakers a 30-16 lead at the break.
That set the stage for a dramatic second half. Emily Benzschawel finished with 11 points and had four steals. The Goslings committed 14 turnovers. The Cheesemakers made nine 3-pointers - Sydney Mathiason knocked down four 3s and Hilliard and Grace Mathiason each hit two.
Sam Mathiason said the players just had to keep finding the holes in the zone and keep moving the ball.
"It's a game of percentages," he said. "If we kept getting those good shots you knew they would go in. You see the ball go in and you get a little bounce and that gives you energy. It rubs off on everyone else. I think our kids did a really good job of responding when the game got close."
