MONROE — It’s not everyday a high school basketball team has a player sign a Letter of Intent to play college basketball. On Nov. 14, the Cheesemakers had two of them.
Senior Sydney Hilliard finalized her decision to play at the University of Wisconsin next fall while senior teammate Emily Benzschawel will be headed a few hours south to the St. Louis suburbs to play for Lindenwood University.
“To have the opportunity to coach one scholarship kid, let alone two in the same graduating class is just a rare opportunity,” Monroe girls basketball head coach Sam Mathiason said. “We knew early that they were going to be good so we wanted to take advantage of every day we had with them. They both work really, really hard and are great team players.”
Hilliard had a slew of suitors – nine in Division 1 alone. She settled on being a Badger, following in the footsteps of her father, who played baseball at Wisconsin.
“The recruiting process has been long. Finally knowing that I’m meant to be a Badger is surreal,” Hilliard said. “I’ve been a Badger fan my whole life. I just knew it was the right fit for me after going on visits — I felt comfortable with the teammates, the coaching staff and the atmosphere. I think they are building something special.”
Benzschawel said she felt comfortable around the campus and team at Lindenwood, a Division 2 school.
“The team chemistry felt right and I could see myself playing there the next four years. It’s got a great campus and a beautiful area — it just felt right,” said Benzschawel, adding that former foe Ellen McCorkle of Oregon is now playing at Lindenwood.
Both players have played varsity basketball since Day 1 of high school and have been thoroughly recognized in the conference and region for their efforts. Hilliard was unanimous all-state as a junior last year and both were first-team all-conference selections in the Badger South. The two have been key cogs in back-to-back Cheesemaker runs to state.
“We made it to state the past two years, but we can’t go into this year thinking that we’re going to go to state again. We have to take it day-by-day and work hard in practice,” said Hilliard, who entered this season with more than 1,400 career points.
Benzschawel knows that her lasting legacy in high school — where she entered her senior season just 99 points away from 1,000 — could come down to how well they do this season.
“Our first goal is to definitely win conference. Our whole goal is obviously to go to state, but we’ll take that one game at a time through playoffs,” Benzschawel said.
Mathiason said he is just lucky to have been able to coach the pair.
“You know that this doesn’t happen very often, and that’s why you’re excited for them. They’re probably ready for this little chapter to be done and to get ready for the season and then move forward,” said Mathiason, who also talked about trying to mold two young talents into high school stars. “You could just see they had that playmaking ability. They had the opportunity, they had the knack, they had the skill level that you could put them in situations to find success. Then you have to figure out how to get them to make the most of that and to take advantage of the different skills that they have.”
