MONROE — Sometimes even the best teams get caught in a bad game. And sometimes that bad game becomes a nightmare. The 60-55 conference loss to Watertown Dec. 4 was of the nightmare variety for the Cheesemakers. 

The game opened up with the Goslings scoring 12-straight points and Monroe not reaching the scoreboard until 6 minutes, 59 seconds into the game. Sydney Hilliard’s pair of free throws ended a 13-possession scoreless streak. However, Monroe’s first bucket wouldn’t come for another two-and-a-half minutes — a jumper by Sydney Updike on the team’s 18th possession of the game that made it 14-4.

Throw in junior forward Grace Tostrud, a two-year starter, getting injured at the 12:43 mark and sophomore starting forward Megan Benzschawel picking up her third foul of the first half just 30 seconds later, and the Cheesemakers had their work cut out for them against the unbeaten Goslings.

“I thought that we had a lot of good shots those first possessions. It’s just that sometimes they go in and other times they don’t,” Monroe head coach Sam Mathiason said. “For the way that we battled and played hard, to have the opportunity to go into halftime down six, I thought ‘at least we are still in it.’ It felt like we could have been down much more. Credit to our kids for finding a way and to not giving in and continuing to battle.”

Slowly but steadily Monroe (4-2, 2-1 Badger South) crept back into the game offensively – especially thanks to a 10-3 run midway through the half. Monroe went into halftime down just 29-23.

“We finally got a shot to fall and then we got the ball rolling a little bit in the first half,” Hilliard said. 

Watertown (5-0, 3-0) features a trio of 6-0 forwards that caused Monroe problems in the post defensively. It also meant that the 1-3-1 zone would cause the Cheesemakers problems on offense.

“We knew that their 1-3-1 was going to be good. They have good length and we knew they were going to move well in their zone – which they did,” Mathiason said.

Needing a spark — and minutes — Mathiason ran deep into his bench in a pivotal moment. That bench delivered.

“Obviously it’s tough for Grace to go down with an ankle injury, but I thought our bench players stepped up and were ready to play and contribute,” Hilliard said.

While Updike hit the first shot and was joined in guard play by Emma Towne, Chloe Bunker came in and tried to muscle her way around the post. She was called for two questionable fouls in the period — one on a potential jump ball off of a rebound and another while getting into defensive position in the post.

Perhaps the biggest spark of all came from junior Kayleigh Nesbitt, who found a way to tip two passes into steals and grab a crucial rebound in the first half, then hit two key 3-pointers in the second half.

“She made a couple of baskets and made a couple of big plays,” Mathiason said. “That’s what you’re looking for. I always tell them to take advantage of your opportunities and I thought Kayleigh did a good job of that.”

Coming out of the locker room at halftime, Monroe twice brought the score to within two points in the first six minutes. 

“Our second halves always come out strong. I thought we were moving the ball really quick, looking short corner and then looking inside, which was open a lot,” Hilliard said.

Then Watertown’s Brianna Hendricks came off the bench and twice found an opening in the corner, burying a pair of big 3s that made it 38-30. Nesbitt’s first 3 of the night brought it back to a 5-point game, but Watertown weathered the storm and eventually led by 10 late in the second half.

But the Cheesemakers didn’t give up, even with Megan Benzschawel fouling out with 1:32 left to play on a play that easily could have been called either a jump ball — or, because the whistle was late — a strip and a steal. 

Hilliard scored six straight Monroe points at one point in the final two minutes, and Nesbitt’s second 3 with 38 seconds left brought the score to 55-51 Watertown. While Monroe’s press gave them fits and forced a handful of turnovers in the waning minutes, Gosling sophomore Teya Maas hit four free throws in the last 61 seconds, and senior teammate Jenna Koepp hit two more to keep Monroe at bay.

“We have a lot of girls that like to compete, so being down in the first half didn’t affect us from coming back and making it a game,” said senior Emily Benzschawel. 

Hilliard led Monroe with 23 points, including an 8-for-9 effort at the free throw line. Emily Benzschawel had 14, while Grace Mathiason finished with seven and Nesbitt six. As a team, the Cheesemakers hit 19 shots from the field, but finished just 4-for-28 from deep, and were 13 of 16 from the charity stripe. Hilliard had 12 rebounds and five steals while Grace Mathiason had 10 rebounds.

Watertown had just five players score in the game — Maas and Aubrey Schmutzler each had 16, Koepp had 12, Hendricks hit three 3s to finish with nine, and Bri Korducki, a 6-0 forward — had seven. Watertown was 17 of 28 from the line and hit seven 3s total.

“In the first half we were moving the ball, and in the second half we played hard. They just knew how to finish,” Hilliard said. “We have to build off this loss. We can’t let it define us. It’s only one conference game.”

Before Monroe’s next game, scheduled for Dec. 8 at Stoughton (5-0, 3-0), the Cheesemakers were ready to get some needed general practice in.

“Stoughton’s going to be a great challenge. The good thing is we will get to have three straight days of practice. Each of our last four practices have been a pregame, which you have a lot of review that you have to work with,” coach Mathiason said. “Now we can do a little skill work and fine tune some of the things that are hard to do when you are doing game prep.”