MONROE — Two days before the sectional seeding meeting, the Cheesemakers took care of business against Edgewood. Monroe controlled the tempo from the start and never trailed in a 61-48 victory Feb. 8.
“It’s really just one game at a time, to be honest,” Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. “Edgewood was a conference game. While we’re a game back of MG, you just kind of hope someone knocks them off, but you don’t want to stub your toe along the way.”
The Cheesemakers entered the game winners of four straight and kept that momentum alive. Monroe’s staunch defense held Edgewood to just two points in the first six minutes of the game as the Cheesemakers jumped out to a 12-2 lead.
“I really thought that once we got the rebound, we were really pushing it. Megan (Benzschawel) got a couple easy ones because we were pushing it transition. It kind of sparked us a bit,” Monroe senior Sydney Hilliard said. Monroe led 33-15 at halftime.
The first half advantage reached as much as 23 after Hilliard stole a pass and went coast to coast for a lay-in with 2:38 left before the break.
“That first half seemed like there was a good flow to it both offensively and defensively. I thought we got some stops, got the ball pushed out to people, made some good cuts, made some good passes and really just took advantages of the looks we had,” Mathiason said.
That first half seemed like there was a good flow to it both offensively and defensively.Monroe head coach Sam Mathiason
The second half was a different story, as Edgewood not only began connecting on some shots, but began connecting on some long-range attempts. The Crusaders hit six 3s in the second half. At one point midway through the second half, Edgewood shrunk Monroe’s lead to 13 at 43-30. If there was any doubt about who was in control, though, that went away quickly.
After Kayleigh Nesbitt hit a 3, Megan Benzschawel scored her final bucket of the night on a baseline jumper. Hilliard then rung off eight straight points to cap a 13-0 Monroe run that put the Edgewood deficit to its highest of the night at 26 with 10:03 left to play.
“The first half felt really good, but in the second half they made six 3s or something like that, and they just kind of stayed around. If they make a couple of those in the first half it probably looks a little different,” Mathiason said.
Monroe would make just two field goals over the final 10 minutes while the reserves worked on their passing game and the two teams waited for the final seconds to tick off the clock. The final basket for the Cheesemakers, scored with just 55 seconds left, was the first of Laurel Houston’s career.
“At the end there with Laurel, where she gets a good pass from Chloe and she’s able to convert and get her first basket of the season, she made the right cut and was able to finish,” Mathiason said. “As I continue to say: You take advantage of your opportunities.”
Hilliard, the schools’ all-time leading scorer, ended the night with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Megan Benzschawel had 18 points and eight boards. Senior Emily Benzschawel, Monroe’s No. 3 all-time scorer, had nine points — all in the first half — and finished with 10 rebounds.
The next day, Monroe traveled to Wisconsin Dells to face D3 defending state champion Marshall in a nonconference at JustAgame Fieldhouse. The Cheesemakers lost to the third-ranked Cardinals 64-51.
Emily Benzschawel led Monroe with 20 points, while Hilliard had 19. Marshall, which led 31-19 at halftime, is led by a trio of sophomore guards that combined for 44 points.
“We have to keep progressing and taking it one game at a time,” Megan Benzschawel said.
With the regular season coming to a close after this week, the Cheesemakers have a small window for improvement before a quest for a third-straight state berth begins. Monroe received a bye in the seeding and will host the winner of McFarland and Mount Horeb Feb. 22.
“It’s crazy to think that we have one more week of conference play. It’s sad, but it’s also exciting to get playoffs started,” Hilliard said.
We have to keep progressing and taking it one game at a time.Megan Benzschawel
The 10th-ranked Cheesemakers had a scheduled game against Fort Atkinson Feb. 11, and close the regular season with a Valentine’s date at Milton.
Once the postseason rolls around, many eyes will be fixated on whether the Cheesemakers can make a third-straight run to the Resch Center in Green Bay.
“Experience is important, and when you’ve got senior guards you kind of want to take advantage of the situations they’ve been in. They’ve been around, they’ve played a lot of games and you just hope that their success continues and they can just lead the way they have led,” Mathiason said of Hilliard and Emily Benzschawel.
The two will likely go down as the most successful teammates in the vaunted girls program. Sitting No. 1 and 3 on the career scoring list with two trips to the state games is impressive. Throw in the all-state accolades and their futures playing college basketball (Hilliard at Wisconsin, Benzschawel at Lindenwood), and the talent is untouched.
Hilliard was a unanimous first-team all-state selection a season ago and is a contender for Miss Basketball in the state this year. She also has four of the top 10 single scoring seasons in the history of the Monroe girls basketball program.
“You always think when playoffs come around that this is could be the last game. Especially as a senior, it kind of flashes before your eyes. I’ve played with Emily basically my whole life, and I don’t want it to end until we get to state,” said Hilliard.
