MADISON - The Monroe girls basketball team's postseason run came to an end with a hard fought 49-39 loss to Madison Edgewood in a WIAA Division 2 Baraboo Regional semifinal Friday night.
Monroe (12-12) rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and sliced the Crusaders' lead to four points on two occasions. Monroe junior Brooke McBain's jumper cut Edgewood's advantage to 34-30 with 4 minutes, 29 seconds to go. Monroe senior Kyleigh Sellnow's jumper with 2:10 left to trim it again back to four points at 40-36. That's as close as the Cheesemakers would get. The Crusaders made 9 of 11 free throws in the final 1:18 to seal the win.
"You never are prepared to have your season end," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "You are never prepared for the finality of it. I was proud of the effort they put forth this season and tonight. They battled throughout. We just didn't make enough plays down the stretch to get the job done."
Edgewood senior Mackenzie Reese, a Division II South Carolina Aiken recruit, led the Crusaders with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.
"When they needed a basket they were able to go to her," Mathiason said of Reese. "She's a scholarship player going to a Division II school. When she made plays we couldn't find a way to answer and make plays."
It was the final game for Sellnow, Kylee Ritschard and three other Monroe seniors. Sellnow scored a team-high 12 points.
"We had great chemistry and a lot of good times," Sellnow said. "I wouldn't change it for anything."
Reese scored the Crusaders' first six points and hit a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead. After falling behind 8-2, the Cheesemakers closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run sparked by Sellnow who ignited the spurt with two 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sellnow knocked down three first half 3-pointers and she finished with nine of her 12 points in the first half.
The Cheesemakers held the Crusaders scoreless for about 6 minutes in the first half and led by as many as five points. When Sellnow had to leave the floor due to a blood spot on her at the end of the second quarter, Edgewood scored three quick points that highlighted a 10-0 run that gave the Crusaders a 20-15 halftime lead.
It was a see-saw third quarter until the final minutes. McBain, who scored eight points, picked up her third foul to start the third quarter.
"That was kind of a key," Mathiason said. "We ran into some foul trouble."
Reese scored eight of her team's 10 points in the third quarter including a steal and a layup at the end of the frame to give the Crusaders a 30-22 lead going into the fourth quarter.
"I think we stepped up our defense in the third and fourth quarters," Sellnow said. "In the end we had to foul them and they made their free throws."
Every time it looked like the Crusaders would pull away, the Cheesemakers answered. Monroe senior Kristin McArdle, who had six points, drilled a 3-pointer and Ritschard scored down low with 6:38 left to cut the Crusaders' lead to 32-27. Fellow senior Abby Jacobson finished with five points.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Mathiason said. "We were never able to hit enough shots to make a run. We could never find the run in the second half that we need to make."
When asked what she will remember the most, Ritschard had a hard time trying to narrow down the list.
"It's hard to pick just one thing," said Ritschard who scored four points and had eight rebounds.
Ritschard said it was fun developing a new team with a new head coach and assistant coaches.
"I think we did a lot of things that no one thought we would like beating the No. 1 team," Ritschard said of the Cheesemakers' 47-43 win over New Berlin Eisenhower Dec. 28.
Monroe (12-12) rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and sliced the Crusaders' lead to four points on two occasions. Monroe junior Brooke McBain's jumper cut Edgewood's advantage to 34-30 with 4 minutes, 29 seconds to go. Monroe senior Kyleigh Sellnow's jumper with 2:10 left to trim it again back to four points at 40-36. That's as close as the Cheesemakers would get. The Crusaders made 9 of 11 free throws in the final 1:18 to seal the win.
"You never are prepared to have your season end," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "You are never prepared for the finality of it. I was proud of the effort they put forth this season and tonight. They battled throughout. We just didn't make enough plays down the stretch to get the job done."
Edgewood senior Mackenzie Reese, a Division II South Carolina Aiken recruit, led the Crusaders with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.
"When they needed a basket they were able to go to her," Mathiason said of Reese. "She's a scholarship player going to a Division II school. When she made plays we couldn't find a way to answer and make plays."
It was the final game for Sellnow, Kylee Ritschard and three other Monroe seniors. Sellnow scored a team-high 12 points.
"We had great chemistry and a lot of good times," Sellnow said. "I wouldn't change it for anything."
Reese scored the Crusaders' first six points and hit a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead. After falling behind 8-2, the Cheesemakers closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run sparked by Sellnow who ignited the spurt with two 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sellnow knocked down three first half 3-pointers and she finished with nine of her 12 points in the first half.
The Cheesemakers held the Crusaders scoreless for about 6 minutes in the first half and led by as many as five points. When Sellnow had to leave the floor due to a blood spot on her at the end of the second quarter, Edgewood scored three quick points that highlighted a 10-0 run that gave the Crusaders a 20-15 halftime lead.
It was a see-saw third quarter until the final minutes. McBain, who scored eight points, picked up her third foul to start the third quarter.
"That was kind of a key," Mathiason said. "We ran into some foul trouble."
Reese scored eight of her team's 10 points in the third quarter including a steal and a layup at the end of the frame to give the Crusaders a 30-22 lead going into the fourth quarter.
"I think we stepped up our defense in the third and fourth quarters," Sellnow said. "In the end we had to foul them and they made their free throws."
Every time it looked like the Crusaders would pull away, the Cheesemakers answered. Monroe senior Kristin McArdle, who had six points, drilled a 3-pointer and Ritschard scored down low with 6:38 left to cut the Crusaders' lead to 32-27. Fellow senior Abby Jacobson finished with five points.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Mathiason said. "We were never able to hit enough shots to make a run. We could never find the run in the second half that we need to make."
When asked what she will remember the most, Ritschard had a hard time trying to narrow down the list.
"It's hard to pick just one thing," said Ritschard who scored four points and had eight rebounds.
Ritschard said it was fun developing a new team with a new head coach and assistant coaches.
"I think we did a lot of things that no one thought we would like beating the No. 1 team," Ritschard said of the Cheesemakers' 47-43 win over New Berlin Eisenhower Dec. 28.
