MONROE — In a tail of two halves, the Cheesemakers narrowly lost to Monona Grove 60-55 in a pivotal early season Badger South game Jan. 3.

Any spectators that left after the halftime show, which featured area elementary school children performing a dance routine with the help of the Monroe High School dance squad, would not have suspected just how different the first half was to the second half.

The first 18 minutes were entirely forgettable for the Cheesemakers (3-6, 2-3 Badger South). Monona Grove (9-2, 4-1) led 23-8 with 2:53 left in the frame, while forcing Monroe to just three field goals and 17 turnovers during the same stretch thanks to a strong full-court press and poor passing by the Cheesemakers. 

“You try to simulate the pressure and show them what it’s going to look like; try to help make sure we get to the right spots in the first half. We didn’t do a good job of finding the holes and making the pass when it was there,” Monroe head coach Sam Mathiason said.

Megan Benzschawel, Monroe’s leading scorer this season, was held to just a single free throw in the entirety of the first half, and only senior Grace Tostrud made more than one basket. 

By the time the two teams went to the locker rooms, Monona Grove, tied at the top of the Badger South standings, led 27-17. It would have been a larger margin had the Cheesemakers not run off with a late 9-4 run over the final three minutes. Tostrud led Monroe with seven points in the half.

“I think in the first half we were just trying to play too fast and letting their press get to us. We had too many unforced errors and turnovers. We settled down in the second half and made some better passes,” Tostrud said.

A few changes to the Xs and Os, combined with a renewed sense of urgency made the Cheesemakers a different team in the second half.

“(The coaches) had a special emphasis on boxing out at halftime — they said just keep going after the boards and limiting their possessions,” Tostrud said.

Monroe opened the second half as it closed the first — going on a 12-6 run thanks to a 3-pointer from Tostrud and Benzschawel, who scored 9-straight points to make it a 4-point game in less than five minutes after the break.

“In the second half, I think part of it was we just did a better job spacing,” Mathiason said.

Benzschawel saw much of her success on the defensive end — she collected eight steals in the game — and made the most of her size and skill advantage in the post. She scored 17 points in the second half, and led all scorers in the game with 18. Tostrud finished with 16.

“We came out a little flat, so we knew we had to pick it up in the second half. We just knew that if we wanted to stay in the game we had to pick it up, look to the open person against their press and settle down a little bit,” Benzschawel said.

Monroe tied the score at 35 with 12:06 left in regulation on a Taylor Jacobson jumper. The Cheesemakers then took a 39-37 lead on a basket in the post by Tostrud with 8:22 to play. The lead was short-lived, however, and Monona Grove went up on a 3-pointer at the 7:36 mark. The Silver Eagles never trailed again.

“I’m really proud with how we’ve fought back. We’ve dug ourselves some big holes and pretty much every game has been a battle. We just have to keep working to improve every day at practice,” Tostrud said.

Tostrud had a double-double in the game, adding 12 rebounds to her 16 points. Benzschawel added eight boards and four assists, and Jacobson had six points and six rebounds.

“I think that Taylor has lots of skills and great athletic ability,” Mathiason said of his freshman starter. “We are just trying to help her take advantage of that and find those opportunities to get to the basket and grab some rebounds. We try to take her game and put it into situations where we can get her to be most successful.”

The Cheesemakers were just 21 of 59 (35.5%) from the field, and a lowly 3 of 14 (21.4%) from beyond the arc. Monona Grove hit nine 3s and was led in scoring by Peighton Nelson (16), Avery Poole (13) and Emma Goke (9). Monroe finished with 27 turnovers in the game, compared to 22 for Monona Grove. 

“It hurts to lose, so we know we have to keep getting better for next week, and keep improving as a whole. We have a lot to improve on,” Benzschawel said.

The Cheesemakers were set to return to action Jan. 7 at Milton (3-7, 2-3) before hosting Stoughton (3-7, 1-4) Jan. 10.

“I think we knew coming in that the conference was going to be really competitive — the games are going to be a lot of times plus or minus 10 points,” Mathiason said.