MONROE — When the postseason arrives, many teams rely on its seniors to be leaders on the court based on experiences. Some other teams might look to playmakers to create energy and create separation.

The Cheesemakers have two such players — seniors Sydney Hilliard and Emily Benzschawel. Each has started on varsity since their freshman year, each has scored well north of 1,000 points and will be playing college basketball next winter — Lindenwood University for Benzschawel and Wisconsin for Hilliard — and each have been the leaders on the court in runs to state the past two seasons.

After a 67-53 win over Stoughton — a win that was much wider than the final score indicates — the Cheesemakers are now just two games out from a third shot to play at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

“Before the game and I was just sitting here — and no one else was here — I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my last game in this gym.’ It makes me really sad, but at the same time I’m happy we could end it with a win,” Hilliard said.

Monroe (18-6) won its regional semifinal against McFarland 71-33 and has trailed in playoff games for just 2 minutes and 2 seconds out of 72.

“Especially Emily and I being in this position for a few years now, and being seniors, we know we could be done — we know we’re going to have to start off fast,” Hilliard said.

In the win over McFarland (14-9), the Cheesemakers pounced early, running off a 13-0 run just minutes to the game and led 15-2 five minutes into the game. The Spartans went on a short 9-0 run midway through the first, but Monroe restored order quickly thanks to the hustle of Hilliard and went into the break with a 36-14 lead.

“I think we intimidated them a little bit with our run right away,” Hilliard said.

Hilliard had 15 points, six steals, three rebounds and two assists in the first half alone. She finished with 25 points, 10 boards, three dimes and seven steals.

“They have that experience and the skills necessary to go out and when in the right situations were able to take advantage. They both have that ability to score and they did a good job of that,” Monroe head coach Sam Mathiason said of Benzschawel and Hilliard.

Benzschawel didn’t disappoint either, finishing with 17 points, two boards, two assists and two steals. Younger sister Megan Benzschawel had nine points, seven rebounds, two dimes and two steals. Grace Tostrud added a pair of 3s and six rebounds and Grace Mathiason had 10 rebounds.

“Defensively, I thought we did well with our helps and recovers, getting some steals and deflections. Offensively, I felt that we found some (open) people,” coach Mathiason said.

In the win over Stoughton, the Vikings hit a 3 to open the game and led 5-2 just over a minute into the game. But then Monroe’s seniors took over again. Hilliard and Emily Benzschawel combined for 19 points in the half, and helped create offense beyond themselves. Each set up teammates for 3s, including Megan Benzschawel (seven points) and Grace Mathiason (eight points).

“When we start off really fast with a lot of momentum, we tend to carry that on throughout the rest of the game,” Megan Benzschawel said. “You can never take a game for granted, because you never know when it’s your last. You have to give it your all every single game.”

The Cheesemakers had to overcome a slew of unusual traveling calls and took a couple extra slaps to the arms in transition, but Hilliard & Co. didn’t let their frustrations get the best of them. After a head-scratching traveling call midway through the first, Hilliard smiled at midcourt on defense and clapped her hands loudly. Emily Benzschawel responded by posing for a nothing-but-net 3 and later hitting Mathiason for a pair of 3s which forced Stoughton coach Brad Pickett to burn his second of three full-timeouts.

“You know Stoughton is going to come and play really tough and compete hard. You kind of have to withstand that and just hope they aren’t going to make too many of their shots. They made their first 3, but I thought our defense was really good tonight. We were a step ahead and ready to beat them to spots,” coach Mathiason said.

Monroe led by as much as 16 in the opening half and went into the break up 34-21. In the second half, the Cheesemakers didn’t let up and led by as much as 26 with 8:13 to play. A full line-change of subs brought in the reserves with just over two minutes left and a 24-point lead.

“Coming out in the first half we came out hot and ready. At halftime, coach just said to keep our composure and keep our energy,” Emily Benzschawel said. “We had lots of energy throughout the whole game, and kept bringing it to them. It makes it extra special knowing that I left this gym with a win.”

Emily Benzschawel had 20 points in the game, while Hilliard finished with 19 points, four rebounds and six assists. Megan Benzschawel had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Tostrud added eight boards.

Up next for the Cheesemakers is DeForest (17-7), which knocked off ranked Reedsburg (16-7) and No. 3 Monona Grove (20-3) in back-to-back games on buzzer-beating baskets. The WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at McFarland High School. 

“I knew that MG and DeForest had a close game during the Badger Challenge, and based on what I heard it sounded like DeForest maybe let that one go a little bit. When you get to tournament time, you just never know,” coach Mathiason said.

The Norskies finished tied with Reedsburg for second in the conference behind two-time defending state champion Beaver Dam (23-1). Senior Aleah Grundahl, a UW-Whitewater commit, is the leading scorer for DeForest. A 6-0 forward, Grundahl is averaging 15.1 points per game this season and is 69 shy of 1,000 for her career. Junior 5-11 forward Megan Mickelson is averaging 8.5 ppg, while 6-0 sophomore forward Grace Roth is at 9.5 ppg.

The winner will play at 1 p.m. March 2 at Oregon against either Waterford (19-4) or Milton (10-13). The Cheesemakers routed Milton by an average of 24 in both games this season. Waterford won a Dec. 15 matchup against the Red Hawks by 16.

“Our starting five have all been in this position before. I think we’ll be ready to play,” Hilliard said.