STOUGHTON — Monroe (4-21, 2-13 Badger West) dropped its WIAA regional quarterfinal game to Stoughton (10-15, 6-9 Badger East) 56-36 on Tuesday, Feb. 21. 

Despite the loss, Monroe head coach Patrick Kenny was proud of the improvements his team showed in the three months since the Cheesemakers last played the Vikings. In just its second game of the season, Monroe fell to Stoughton 75-15.

“Our execution and our understanding of the game of basketball is what really improved,” Kenny said. “We became smarter basketball players as the season went on. I was proud of the way the girls responded throughout the year. It would have been really easy to just put their heads down and say, ‘Let’s just get through the rest of the season and be done with it.’ To come in here tonight after losing by 60, saying we are going to fight back against this team, it makes me excited for these girls and their future.”

Monroe’s defense started strong, forcing a number of turnovers. In fact, the Cheesemakers held the Vikings scoreless for the first three minutes. 

“We knew our personnel — who do we need to force left and who do we need to force to drive,” Kenny said. “We did that throughout that game. They struggled offensively a little bit, but I think that’s because we were doing some good things defensively.”

Ella Hamacher opened the game with an offensive put-back. A minute later, Ava Perkins converted at the free-throw line. The next bucket from the floor was another by Hamacher, three minutes after her first.

Just like Monroe’s, Stoughton’s defense troubled the Cheesemakers. The Vikings ran a full-court press, forcing Kenny to call two timeouts in three minutes to avoid turnovers.

With just under six minutes left in the half, Kenny called his third timeout of the half with Monroe trailing 20-0. Hamacher scored on an inbounds play and from a Cheesemaker turnover, while Gretchen Tangeman finished a 3-point play at the free-throw line.

In the huddle, the seniors felt a sense of urgency with their season and basketball careers on the line.

“We just needed to reset,” senior Taylor Jacobson said. “After one of the timeouts, we had to sit down and think, ‘This isn’t how we are going to end our season. We have to do better than this.’ We just picked up our energy.”

Senior Sophia Douglas was the first to strike, knocking down a jumper with just under five minutes left in the half. A minute later, Abbey Matley tacked on with her own bucket. Sophie Golembiewski followed suit to make it a 20-6 game.

Although Stoughton scored five of those points back with a bucket from Hamacher and 3-pointer from Maddie Reott, Monroe ended the half on a seven-point run.

Matley grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back for two. With a minute left in the half, Lindsay Leuzinger pump faked her defender, dribbled around a pulled up for a jumper. Jacobson then ended that half with a 3-pointer as Monroe trailed Stoughton 25-13 at the half.

Having scored all 13 of their first-half points in just five minutes, the Cheesemakers went to the locker room pumped. 

“We were all feeling pretty good in the locker room about our run that we went on close to the end,” Jacobson said. “We kept that energy up in the locker room and tried to bring it out in the second half. I think we did a pretty good job throwing the first punch.”

Jacobson provided that punch, getting to the line in Monroe’s opening possession. There, she went 2-for-2. Fellow senior Allison Wunschel then drained a three to get within seven. 

The Cheesemakers hung around, as Jacobson contributed to the next three scores for Monroe. She battled for position on the block, scoring on the inbounds play. She then assisted Golembiewski for two points. Jacobson capped the run with a fast-break bucket.

The Vikings pulled away, though, with a 10-0 run. Reott sank a three, and, on Monroe’s subsequent inbounds pass, she stole the ball. Jacobson, who was nearest, fouled her. At the line, Reott made both of her shots. With Jacobson’s fourth foul, Stoughton went to the bonus with eight minutes left in the game.

Monroe followed suit, as Leuzinger went to the line for bonus with just under six minutes left. She made both of her shots as the Cheesemakers trailed 45-26.

“We had a conversation and said, ‘Hey. We are in the bonus. They don’t want to foul you. Let’s see if we can score with the clock stopped to get back into this.’ They took that to heart,” Kenny said. “Two months ago, we were in the same situation in Mount Horeb. We lost by 40 points because we got to the bonus and stopped attacking. Tonight, we learned and understood.”

Although Monroe scored seven points at the free-throw line, Stoughton kept pace. The two teams reached double bonus a minute apart. 

With a 52-34 Viking lead and less than a minute left in the game, each coach subbed in his bench. At the buzzer, Makayla Eddy scored for the Cheesemakers, making it a 56-36 game.

Jacobson led Monroe with 15 points, going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line with a pair of threes. She will continue her basketball career at the University of Texas A&M International next fall.

“It’s a little different for me than most of my teammates, but it’s still tough,” Jacobson said of playing her last game as a Cheesemaker. “I’ve been playing with these girls since fourth grade — even before that with dribbling dinosaurs. It’s going to be a big change to play with a whole different team in a whole different part of the country. I’m really going to miss it. I love playing with them.”

Monroe ended the season 4-21 overall and 2-13 in the Badger West Conference. Next year, the Cheesemakers will be part of the Rock Valley Conference. In the 2022-23 season, Monroe played three Rock Valley opponents, coming away 1-2 with a win against Evansville.