MONROE — The Cheesemakers faced setbacks, as they were without starters Taylor Jacobson and Sophie Golembiewski for their game against Elkhorn on Saturday, Dec. 17. Despite a 50-29 loss, head coach Patrick Kenny was happy with how other players filled those voids.

“It helped us learn to take on a larger role,” Kenny said. “It’s giving our younger girls an opportunity. We certainly miss having Taylor, Sophie and DJ [Delaney Fortney]. We are hoping to get them back soon, but ultimately, we’ve played our two best games this season this past week. We are feeling good about the growth and improvements that we are making.”

The bank was open for Allison Wunschel, as she gave Monroe its only lead of the game with a 3-pointer. Kyrin Lile then used her size to drive to the basket, scoring six straight points for the Elks. With another two points from Elkhorn’s other freshman Kylie Schultz, the Elks had an 8-3 lead. Monroe got within two thanks to another banked 3-pointer from Wunschel.   

Elkorn then doubled up Monroe with six straight points from Lile. Lindsay Leuzinger put an end to the scoring run with a 3-pointer and Sydnee Conway tacked on with a bucket to get back within three. Brynn Malvitz extended the Elk’s lead back to six with her own 3-pointer.

With a jump ball in favor of Monroe, the Cheesemakers looked to hold for the last possession with 24.2 seconds left. A turnover gave the ball to Elkhorn, though, where Schultz scored on the other end. Another turnover gave the Elks the ball for an inbounds play under their basket for the final possession. Lile’s shot went in and out of the basket, but Elkhorn still took a 21-13 lead into the half.

To open the second half, Malvitz made back-to-back threes to extend the Elks’ lead to 14 points. A foul by Bryn Lile sent Abbey Matley to the line, where she went 2-for-2. 

With a bucket from Sophia Douglas and three from Leuzinger, Monroe cut the deficit to single digits. That’s the closest the Cheesemakers got the rest of the game.

Elkhorn went up by 14 again with a basket from Schultz and three from Kyrin Lile. Allison Bestul and Grace Woyak scored their first points of the game for an 18-point lead before Conway scored back-to-back points for the Cheesemakers.

To close out the game, the Elks outscored Monroe 8-2.

Elkhorn received a team-high 20 points from Bryn Lile. Malvitz was the second-highest scorer with nine points, all made from beyond the arc. Despite the win, the Elks were just 2-for-9 from the free-throw line for 22%.

Leuzinger led Monroe with eight points, six of which came from beyond the arc. Conway chipped in seven points, followed by Wunschel with six. Matley had all three of Monroe’s opportunities at the free-throw line, going 2-for-3.

“Syndee has done a really great job of carrying the point guard responsibility,” Kenny said. “Abbey Matley helped out with the press — a responsibility she usually doesn’t have. Allison Wunschel is a swiss army knife for us. We can put her in at a guard or a forward, and she knows every spot in the book.”

Although they didn’t show up statistically, Brinley Roidt, Kristina Haumer and Anastasia Lattin got a taste of varsity basketball and played a significant number of minutes. 

“It’s advantageous to them to be able to play with that kind of pace and learn that speed of the game,” Kenny said. “They’ve earned it. They’ve been a nice job at practice, showing that they can play with us at the varsity level.”