MONROE — The Cheesemakers stayed competitive with Sauk Prairie for much of the first half, but foul trouble and the Eagles’ full-court press led to a quick demise for the home team. Sauk Prairie would close the first half on a 22-5 run to go ahead 35-14 at the break, then rolled in the second half to a 71-25 win at Monroe Jan. 25 in a Badger West matchup.
The Cheesemakers (0-15, 0-10 Badger West) had opened the game 3-for-3 from the field and led 7-4 after two minutes of action, but the lead evaporated with Sauk Prairie (13-6, 6-5) scoring on its first four possessions of the contest. Even still, Monroe hung tough and trailed 8-7 nearly five minutes in, and were down by just six with 9:30 to go in the half. From there the Eagles outscored the Cheesemakers 18-3 until intermission.
Monroe didn’t score a field goal over the final 9:37 of the half, and had 18 turnovers in the opening stanza, compared to just six by Sauk Prairie. The Cheesemakers were also whistled for 13 fouls in the first half, with two starters going into the locker room with three fouls each at the midway point.
The first two minutes of the second half weren’t any better, with the Cheesemakers turning the ball over three times with their leading scorer, Taylor Jacobson, picking up her fourth foul at the 16:05 mark, and Sauk scoring the first 10 points to go up by 30.
Jacobson led Monroe with nine points, while Sophie Golembiewski had six. McKayla Paukner paced the Eagles with 19 points, and Erelyn Apel added 12. Eleven Sauk Prairie players scored, while seven Cheesemakers put the ball through the hoop in some fashion.
Up next for Monroe is a Jan. 29 game at Portage, followed by a Feb. 1 nonconference contest at home against Clinton.
Mineral Point 59, Darlington 40
MINERAL POINT — The Redbirds dropped a SWAL contest to the top-ranked Pointers Jan. 25.
Cayla Golackson led Darlington with 19 points, but no other Redbird scored more than five. Mallory Lindsey led Mineral Point with 20 points, and Blair Watters added 14.
Darlington (8-9, 4-4 SWAL) were set to host Riverdale Jan. 27, followed by Fennimore the next day. Darlington then travels to Potosi-Cassville Feb. 1 for a nonconference affair.
Pecatonica 52, Johnson Creek 42
JOHNSON CREEK — Chloe Schraepfer scored 16 points as the Vikings picked up a nonconference road win Jan. 24.
Pecatonica led 26-19 at halftime. Lexi Peterson scored 11 points for the Vikings, while Diana Hendrickson and Tessa Green added eight each. Lexi Swanson led Johnson Creek with 19 points.
The Vikings (8-8, 3-3 Six Rivers East) were set to host Albany Jan. 28, then welcome Madison Country Day into town Jan. 31 for a nonconference game.
Argyle 53, Shullsburg 46
ARGYLE — The Orioles found a way to close it off against the Miners in a Six Rivers crossover game Jan. 24.
A 3-pointer by Camden Russell brought the Miners within three at 47-44 with 2:47 left, but the Orioles (7-9) went 6-for-8 from the foul line down the stretch to hold on for their first win over Shullsburg since 2007 ending an 11-game losing streak.
Maggie Godfrey finished with a double-double for Argyle, scoring 15 points and adding 13 rebounds. She also had three steals and seven blocks. Chesney Leigh hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points for Argyle, while teammate Grace Ganshert finished the night with 14 points, eight boards, five assists and four blocks.
The Orioles blocked 12 shots, and Shullsburg shot just 32.6% from the field, and 13.3% from deep.
Argyle (7-9, 3-3 Six Rivers East) was set to host Juda Jan. 28, then welcome Cambria-Friesland to town Feb. 1 for a nonconference game.
Brodhead 67, Clinton 34
BRODHEAD — The Cardinals kept their Rock Valley Conference record unblemished with a rousing victory Jan. 25.
Kiarra Moe had 23 points to lead Brodhead (16-2, 12-0), while Abbie Dix added 11. Jayden Nortier led the Cougars (9-8, 6-6) with 17 points.
Brodhead jumped out to an insurmountable 44-12 lead by halftime. The Cardinals picked up help in their race for the conference title when Edgerton defeated McFarland the same night. Both Edgerton (14-2, 9-2) and McFarland (11-5, 8-4) entered the day tied for second place in the Rock Valley. Brodhead leads Edgerton by 2.5 games.
McFarland will be looking to play spoiler over the closing weeks of the season, and are up next for the Cardinals. The game was slated for Jan. 28 in McFarland, which is led by sophomore sensation Teagan Mallegni, who leads the state in scoring at 28.8 points per game and has interest from more than two dozen NCAA Division I schools. On Feb. 3, Big Foot (5-12, 2-10) comes to Brodhead, while the Cardinals are back on the road Feb. 8 at East Troy (3-12, 3-9).
In other area girls basketball games, Monticello came up short at Benton 40-29 on Jan. 24, while New Glarus finished off Lodi 62-56 on Jan. 25.
