MONROE — In a doubleheader that had been rescheduled twice, the Cheesemakers came out on top in both the boys’ and girls’ games on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

The girls completed the sweep of Portage with a 51-30 victory. With the win, the Cheesemakers improved to 4-20, having swept the Warriors for the last two years.

Taylor Jacobson got Monroe on the board first with a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line. Abbey Matley then added to the lead with a jumper.

Portage scored its first points six minutes in with a 3-pointer from Madelyne Keppert, tying the game. In the next possession, Sophie Golembiewski completed a 3-point play at the free-throw line to give Monroe the lead back. 

Jacobson then scored the next seven points for the Cheesemakers on a fast break and three free throws. Golembiewski continued her offensive streak, too, getting an assist from Sydnee Conway and making another free throw. With just over seven minutes left, Monroe doubled up Portage 16-8. 

The Warriors drained three straight 3-pointers, though, to take a 17-16 lead. Unwilling to trail any longer than necessary, Golembiewski took the lead back with a pair of free throws. She then went to the bank for two more. 

As the half came to a close, she grabbed a rebound from Matley’s missed bonus free throw and converted for two more points. Monroe took the 22-17 lead into the locker room.

While it took Portage six minutes to score in the first half, Warrior Hannah Kallungi drained a 3-pointer just a minute into the second half. 

For the next nine and a half minutes, the Cheesemakers went on a 14-0 run. 

Jacobson grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed it up to Allison Wunschel for a transition bucket. Matley followed with a 2-for-2 trip to the free-throw line. Delaney Fortney scored her first points at the charity stripe, and Jacobson followed suit with two free throws of her own. Golembiewski capped the run with a pass to Jacobson, who cut to the basket for two points.

Keppert ended the run with her fifth 3-pointer of the game, but Monroe went picked up right where it left off. Golembiewski drained a three, followed by a steal and fast-break basket from Conway. Matley scored back-to-back points with assists from Sophia Douglas and Jacobson.

Portage finished the game on a 6-0 run with three points each from Keppert and Amira Khan.

Golembiewski and Jacobson led Monroe with 18 points each. Matley was the second-highest scorer with nine points, while Conway, Wunschel and Fortney chipped in two points each.

With its 75-53 win, the Monroe boys basketball squad jumped Portage in the Badger West Conference standings heading into playoffs.

The Warriors had an early 6-2, though, with two 3-pointers Brady Seiler. Tucker Markham tied the game at eight with a basket and successful and-one five minutes in. Portage regained its lead and extended it to 14-8 with a 3-point play from Kyan Reichhoff and bucket from beyond the arc by Johnathan Stout.

With an inbounds basket from James Seagreaves and two 3-pointers from Brandon Bassett, Monroe tied the game at 16. Charlie Wiegel then gave the Cheesemakers their first lead with a three of his own.

The lead was short-lived, as Keagan Hooker had an offensive put-back, followed by a bucket from Anton Klide. Monroe’s perimeter shooting put the team back on top, as George Brukwicki and Keatin Sweeney hit back-to-back threes for a 25-20 lead.

After a Klide bucket, Seagreaves scored on an offensive rebound. Sweeney then hit two more threes for an 11-point lead with just under four minutes remaining in the half.

Portage erased the lead in a matter of two minutes with three straight 3-pointers from Hooker, Reichhoff and Klide. Hooker then tied the game at 33 with a steal, turning it into two points on the offensive end.

Although Brukwicki responded with a basket, the Warriors ran 30 seconds off the clock to hold for the last possession. Hooker capitalized on the opportunity, making a fade-away to tie the game going into halftime.

The two teams exchanged the lead early in the second half before and inbounds basket from Ryan Mathiason gave Monroe a lead from which they never looked back. Keegan Dahmen scored his first points of the game on the next play, getting a screen from Sweeney that left Dahmen wide open for a three.

Seiler erased Dahmen’s shot with a 3-pointer of his own, but the Cheesemakers went on an 11-0 run in the next five minutes for a 56-47 lead.

Brandon Bassett sank a three, but it was called off due to a Gavin Thompson foul. Bassett wasn’t fazed, though, as he hit the three again on the subsequent inbounds play. Mathiason then scored the next eight points, making four free throws. 

Reichhoff ended Monroe’s run with his third 3-pointer. Griffin Garrigan committed his third foul, though, sending Bruckwicki to the line for bonus and effectively giving the Cheesemakers the momentum back.

Bruckwicki made both of his free throws for an 11-point lead. Monroe extended its lead to 20 points six minutes later with a three from Bruckwicki, steal from Sweeney and nine other points from Markham.

With just over a minute left, head coach Brian Bassett subbed in his bench. In that time, Dahmen grabbed a rebound, Parker Isley recorded a deflection and Taylor Herbst made a free throw.

Four players scored in double figures for Monroe, led by Markham with 16 points. He went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe with five rebounds and five assists. Sweeney trailed with 11 points and five rebounds, while Mathiason and Bruckwicki scored 10 points each. Seagreaves led on the boards with nine rebounds.

During halftime of both the boys’ and girls’ games, the programs asked for donations for Theodore Huffman and Kaelie Wunschel. Huffman, the son of seventh grade basketball coach Dustin Huffman, suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, while Wunschel is in cancer remission. The community raised $2.741.74 during the Miracle Minute.

EDGEWOOD 69, MONROE 62

MONROE — The Cheesemakers went toe-to-toe with the conference-leading Crusaders on Friday, Feb. 17 but fell short in overtime. Monroe overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to force extra time but was outscored 17-10.

Seagreaves paced the squad with 26 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. He went 8-for-13 at the charity stripe with six assists. Brukwicki trailed with 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Markham was the third Cheesemaker in double figures with 12 points, half of which came at the free-throw line.

Monroe honored its seniors Braden Rupnow, Casey Dean, Bruckwicki, Sweeney, Markham and Wiegel.