VERONA - It took some bona fide senior savvy to light the candles for Monroe freshman Kyleigh Sellnow's coming out party Friday night in a 44-36 overtime thriller at Verona.
After Monroe seized the largest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter at 30-23, Verona senior Megan McGowan capped a 10-3 Wildcat run that forced overtime with an old-fashioned three-point play after stealing the ball off a trapped Ashley Hermanson near mid-court.
"She's a senior and she would've done anything to win on her home floor," Wildcats coach Angie Murphy said.
But, after watching their lead decimated at the end of regulation, the Cheesemakers bounced back thanks to the cool hand of their freshman sixth man.
Midway through the extra session, Sellnow, who missed a triple at the end of regulation, made good on a 3-pointer from right of the circle that triggered a scoring avalanche, long pent up by Verona's finely tuned press and half-court zone.
Despite her unflappable exterior, the gears were turning upstairs for the clutch frosh.
"Oh man, I was nervous and saying, 'Please just go in,'" Sellnow said. "My teammates were looking for me and they found me."
"We came down and literally got our arms ripped off," Murphy said. "Then they came back and hit a 3; that was a huge momentum swing and a call they had to make."
Seconds later, Emily Rufenacht found herself unchecked on the other side of the circle and quickly drove and snuck a lay-in under the reach of Verona post Leslie Schaefer.
A triple from McGowan from three feet beyond the top of the key only provided a comma for the Cheesemakers' overtime statement as Sellnow swished two free throws to move the lead to 40-36. Sophomores Gwen Sutter and Jamie Armstrong followed suit, calmly hitting two freebies apiece to seal the deal.
Monroe's 11 overtime points were three more than it put together in the entire first half. Twice Kevin Keen's club held the ball for more than a minute-and-a-half, trying to dissect Verona's disciplined zone.
"People thought we were trying to slow it down, but we were just running offense," Keen said. "Eventually you've gotta be assertive and attack the basket."
Entering the fourth quarter deadlocked at 20-apiece, Sellnow pinned her ears back and did just that. Taking pointers off her brother, Chase's bulldog mentality, she took McGowan off the dribble and went high off glass to score as the Wildcats' frontcourt swarmed.
"They're big, but I just go up strong like my brother taught me," Sellnow said.
Hermanson then scored twice by outworking Tackett on consecutive possessions and both times was assisted by Armstrong before returning the favor to her classmate on a broken fast break to take a 28-22 lead.
Armstrong provided some extra long-range firepower and nullified Verona's zone early in the third when the 6-2 sophomore splashed both 3-point attempts she took from the top of the key.
"This wasn't a first-time thing," Keen said. "We're all starting to realize what we need to do situationally."
The first Armstrong triple cut the deficit to 13-11 and the second hacked it to 15-14 before Sutter hit another long ball a minute later that knotted things at 17-17.
Schaefer, a junior standout, looked out of rhythm throughout, which Murphy credited to Monroe "executing their game plan and executing it well."
The victory was one of vengeance after the Wildcats ran the Cheesemakers off their home floor, 56-34, Thursday, Jan. 3.
"Now we control our own destiny," Keen said. "If we take care of business, we'll be in great shape."
After Monroe seized the largest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter at 30-23, Verona senior Megan McGowan capped a 10-3 Wildcat run that forced overtime with an old-fashioned three-point play after stealing the ball off a trapped Ashley Hermanson near mid-court.
"She's a senior and she would've done anything to win on her home floor," Wildcats coach Angie Murphy said.
But, after watching their lead decimated at the end of regulation, the Cheesemakers bounced back thanks to the cool hand of their freshman sixth man.
Midway through the extra session, Sellnow, who missed a triple at the end of regulation, made good on a 3-pointer from right of the circle that triggered a scoring avalanche, long pent up by Verona's finely tuned press and half-court zone.
Despite her unflappable exterior, the gears were turning upstairs for the clutch frosh.
"Oh man, I was nervous and saying, 'Please just go in,'" Sellnow said. "My teammates were looking for me and they found me."
"We came down and literally got our arms ripped off," Murphy said. "Then they came back and hit a 3; that was a huge momentum swing and a call they had to make."
Seconds later, Emily Rufenacht found herself unchecked on the other side of the circle and quickly drove and snuck a lay-in under the reach of Verona post Leslie Schaefer.
A triple from McGowan from three feet beyond the top of the key only provided a comma for the Cheesemakers' overtime statement as Sellnow swished two free throws to move the lead to 40-36. Sophomores Gwen Sutter and Jamie Armstrong followed suit, calmly hitting two freebies apiece to seal the deal.
Monroe's 11 overtime points were three more than it put together in the entire first half. Twice Kevin Keen's club held the ball for more than a minute-and-a-half, trying to dissect Verona's disciplined zone.
"People thought we were trying to slow it down, but we were just running offense," Keen said. "Eventually you've gotta be assertive and attack the basket."
Entering the fourth quarter deadlocked at 20-apiece, Sellnow pinned her ears back and did just that. Taking pointers off her brother, Chase's bulldog mentality, she took McGowan off the dribble and went high off glass to score as the Wildcats' frontcourt swarmed.
"They're big, but I just go up strong like my brother taught me," Sellnow said.
Hermanson then scored twice by outworking Tackett on consecutive possessions and both times was assisted by Armstrong before returning the favor to her classmate on a broken fast break to take a 28-22 lead.
Armstrong provided some extra long-range firepower and nullified Verona's zone early in the third when the 6-2 sophomore splashed both 3-point attempts she took from the top of the key.
"This wasn't a first-time thing," Keen said. "We're all starting to realize what we need to do situationally."
The first Armstrong triple cut the deficit to 13-11 and the second hacked it to 15-14 before Sutter hit another long ball a minute later that knotted things at 17-17.
Schaefer, a junior standout, looked out of rhythm throughout, which Murphy credited to Monroe "executing their game plan and executing it well."
The victory was one of vengeance after the Wildcats ran the Cheesemakers off their home floor, 56-34, Thursday, Jan. 3.
"Now we control our own destiny," Keen said. "If we take care of business, we'll be in great shape."
