MONROE - Monroe girls basketball coach Sam Mathiason challenged his team to use their non-conference game against Big Eight Conference and Division 1 Madison La Follette as a measuring stick.
The Cheesemakers were blitzed with a 21-1 run from the end of the second quarter to midway through the third quarter and La Follette rolled to a 45-32 win Tuesday night.
The run for the Lancers was kick-started by La Follette junior Clare Gloede who hit four 3-pointers during the spurt. The Lancers had eight of their 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and the Cheesemakers' shooting was about as cold as it was outside the high school. Monroe shot 21.2 percent (10-for-47) from the field.
"I think part of the reason you play La Follette is so we can get ready for conference and the tournament at the end of the year," Mathiason said. "I told them after the game what will we learn from this. La Follette has good size and they are athletic. We have to rebound at a higher level."
Early on, the Cheesemakers struggled shooting, starting the game 0-for-6. Monroe then started heating up midway through the first quarter. Freshman Taylor Barrett knocked down a jumper and seniors Kylee Ritschard and Kyleigh Sellnow each drilled 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a short lived 10-7 lead.
"I think on the last four possessions of the first half we gave up eight points," Mathiason said.
Mathiason said the team talked about limiting the Lancers to just one shot at halftime. However, the Lancers took advantage of their size and grabbed some key offensive rebounds that led to second chance scoring opportunities. The Cheesemakers also shot 7 of 16 from the free throw line.
"It just kind of steamrolled after that," Mathiason said. "We did a good job of boxing out. We just didn't go in and get the rebounds we needed to get."
Sellnow scored nine points to lead the Cheesemakers.
"I feel like they just outhustled us," Sellnow said. "It seems like they were more hungry than us. It was a new test for us. Now that we have been through that, we will bring that to our next games and we will hustle a lot more."
Mathiason was surprised by the shooting woes.
"We had a lot of open shots," he said. "We just have to find a way to make a higher percentage of them."
La Follette's 6-foot, 2-inch forward Rani Singh scored off an offensive rebound to open the third quarter and Gloede, who scored 14 points, drained a 3-pointer that sparked the Lancers to their biggest lead at 34-14.
The Cheesemakers stormed back from a 20-point deficit by turning up the pressure defense. Monroe went on a 10-0 spurt at the end of the third quarter into the fourth by going to a press that helped force five straight Lancers' turnovers.
The Cheesemakers had shot 0-for-10 from the field during the first half of the third quarter. Monroe junior Brooke McBain broke the scoreless streak that lasted more than 6 minutes when she scored on a putback to cut the Lancers' lead to 34-16.
Monroe junior Molly Hlubek hit a jumper and Sellnow scored on a layup to pull the Cheese-makers within 12 points (34-22) at the end of the third quarter. McBain, who scored seven points, made two free throws with 7:27 to go to cut the Lancers' lead to 34-24 with 7:27 to go. The deficit for the Cheesemakers ballooned back up to 16 points.
However, the Cheessemakers wouldn't go away quietly. Monroe senior Abby Jacobson drilled a 3-pointer with 1:54 that cut the Lancers' lead to 40-30, but that is as close as the Cheesemakers could get. Jacobson finished with six points and Ritschard added five.
"I feel like we did a good job of coming back from a 20-point deficit," Sellnow said. "Once we got a couple of baskets with our press it just kept building and building."
The Cheesemakers were blitzed with a 21-1 run from the end of the second quarter to midway through the third quarter and La Follette rolled to a 45-32 win Tuesday night.
The run for the Lancers was kick-started by La Follette junior Clare Gloede who hit four 3-pointers during the spurt. The Lancers had eight of their 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and the Cheesemakers' shooting was about as cold as it was outside the high school. Monroe shot 21.2 percent (10-for-47) from the field.
"I think part of the reason you play La Follette is so we can get ready for conference and the tournament at the end of the year," Mathiason said. "I told them after the game what will we learn from this. La Follette has good size and they are athletic. We have to rebound at a higher level."
Early on, the Cheesemakers struggled shooting, starting the game 0-for-6. Monroe then started heating up midway through the first quarter. Freshman Taylor Barrett knocked down a jumper and seniors Kylee Ritschard and Kyleigh Sellnow each drilled 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a short lived 10-7 lead.
"I think on the last four possessions of the first half we gave up eight points," Mathiason said.
Mathiason said the team talked about limiting the Lancers to just one shot at halftime. However, the Lancers took advantage of their size and grabbed some key offensive rebounds that led to second chance scoring opportunities. The Cheesemakers also shot 7 of 16 from the free throw line.
"It just kind of steamrolled after that," Mathiason said. "We did a good job of boxing out. We just didn't go in and get the rebounds we needed to get."
Sellnow scored nine points to lead the Cheesemakers.
"I feel like they just outhustled us," Sellnow said. "It seems like they were more hungry than us. It was a new test for us. Now that we have been through that, we will bring that to our next games and we will hustle a lot more."
Mathiason was surprised by the shooting woes.
"We had a lot of open shots," he said. "We just have to find a way to make a higher percentage of them."
La Follette's 6-foot, 2-inch forward Rani Singh scored off an offensive rebound to open the third quarter and Gloede, who scored 14 points, drained a 3-pointer that sparked the Lancers to their biggest lead at 34-14.
The Cheesemakers stormed back from a 20-point deficit by turning up the pressure defense. Monroe went on a 10-0 spurt at the end of the third quarter into the fourth by going to a press that helped force five straight Lancers' turnovers.
The Cheesemakers had shot 0-for-10 from the field during the first half of the third quarter. Monroe junior Brooke McBain broke the scoreless streak that lasted more than 6 minutes when she scored on a putback to cut the Lancers' lead to 34-16.
Monroe junior Molly Hlubek hit a jumper and Sellnow scored on a layup to pull the Cheese-makers within 12 points (34-22) at the end of the third quarter. McBain, who scored seven points, made two free throws with 7:27 to go to cut the Lancers' lead to 34-24 with 7:27 to go. The deficit for the Cheesemakers ballooned back up to 16 points.
However, the Cheessemakers wouldn't go away quietly. Monroe senior Abby Jacobson drilled a 3-pointer with 1:54 that cut the Lancers' lead to 40-30, but that is as close as the Cheesemakers could get. Jacobson finished with six points and Ritschard added five.
"I feel like we did a good job of coming back from a 20-point deficit," Sellnow said. "Once we got a couple of baskets with our press it just kept building and building."
