MONROE - One might say that Jamie Armstrong and her crew "Badgered" the Spartans to death Thursday night at home.
Much like the way the UW-Madison men's basketball team makes a living winning the foul battle on a nightly basis, Monroe was spearheaded by the sophomore's 12-for-14 free throw shooting as it bullied McFarland 50-33.
"They were really hacking away and I haven't shot that many free throws in a game in a long time," Armstrong said.
"The few of us that did shoot shot incredibly well," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said of his team's 20-for-23 performance.
Cheesemaker freshman Kyleigh Sellnow hit all six of her free throws and Morgan Kennison added one in a traditional three-point play while Marissa Ubert hit one of her two tries late.
After McFarland hung tough, 37-25, through three quarters, Armstrong threw a flurry of knockout punches with eight points in the first 2 minutes, 43 seconds of the final quarter.
After hitting five of her six bonus free throws to open the quarter, the 6-1 Armstrong coolly stepped out to the top of the key and splashed a 3-pointer before checking out with a game-high 17 points and her team up 45-25.
The always-smiling post refused to admit afterward that she succumbed to boredom with the monotony of free throw shooting. She just had that spot in the back of her mind throughout.
"I knew the whole game that I wanted to step out there," Armstrong said. "It's fun to shoot out there and I'm comfortable shooting anywhere."
Armstrong also blocked four shots, the final swatter coming just 55 seconds into the second half. Sellnow, a 5-8 point guard, also registered a block in the second quarter so emphatically that "Ooh's" and "Ah's" poured down from the bleachers.
Keen recently called for more touches for another sophomore post, the workmanlike Ashley Hermanson. Despite not having practice the last two days to work out the kinks of their coach's wishes, the Cheesemakers craftily worked the ball inside early to establish a 12-2 lead through six minutes of play.
"Our post players are doing a good job of working for position and holding that position," Keen said. "Ashley's become very aggressive from the beginning of the year to where she is now."
After McFarland grabbed its only lead at 2-0 on a cleanup score by sophomore post Kirsten Walker, Hermanson cashed in a putback of her own and added another bull-like bucket two minutes later. Two Sellnow free throws and four Hermanson freebies later, the Cheesemakers were long gone.
"It's tough with no school or practice the last couple of days, you don't know what you're going to get," Keen said. "I thought we responded very well and got out of the gates early."
Monroe was a portrait of consistency with 12 points in the first two quarters and 13 apiece in the final two periods.
Hermanson scored 12 points for Monroe (13-3, 9-1 Badger South) while McFarland (4-12, 2-9) was paced by Julia Thorson's 10 as the 6-2 junior cleaned up in garbage time.
Much like in the first meeting, Keen was afforded a chance to get every player into the ballgame.
"We'd like to be able to do that every game if possible," Keen said. "We told the kids before the game that we've got a three-game season left. This was goal number one. We've got our non-conference game Saturday (at Freeport), but we're really pointing toward Stoughton on Tuesday."
Much like the way the UW-Madison men's basketball team makes a living winning the foul battle on a nightly basis, Monroe was spearheaded by the sophomore's 12-for-14 free throw shooting as it bullied McFarland 50-33.
"They were really hacking away and I haven't shot that many free throws in a game in a long time," Armstrong said.
"The few of us that did shoot shot incredibly well," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said of his team's 20-for-23 performance.
Cheesemaker freshman Kyleigh Sellnow hit all six of her free throws and Morgan Kennison added one in a traditional three-point play while Marissa Ubert hit one of her two tries late.
After McFarland hung tough, 37-25, through three quarters, Armstrong threw a flurry of knockout punches with eight points in the first 2 minutes, 43 seconds of the final quarter.
After hitting five of her six bonus free throws to open the quarter, the 6-1 Armstrong coolly stepped out to the top of the key and splashed a 3-pointer before checking out with a game-high 17 points and her team up 45-25.
The always-smiling post refused to admit afterward that she succumbed to boredom with the monotony of free throw shooting. She just had that spot in the back of her mind throughout.
"I knew the whole game that I wanted to step out there," Armstrong said. "It's fun to shoot out there and I'm comfortable shooting anywhere."
Armstrong also blocked four shots, the final swatter coming just 55 seconds into the second half. Sellnow, a 5-8 point guard, also registered a block in the second quarter so emphatically that "Ooh's" and "Ah's" poured down from the bleachers.
Keen recently called for more touches for another sophomore post, the workmanlike Ashley Hermanson. Despite not having practice the last two days to work out the kinks of their coach's wishes, the Cheesemakers craftily worked the ball inside early to establish a 12-2 lead through six minutes of play.
"Our post players are doing a good job of working for position and holding that position," Keen said. "Ashley's become very aggressive from the beginning of the year to where she is now."
After McFarland grabbed its only lead at 2-0 on a cleanup score by sophomore post Kirsten Walker, Hermanson cashed in a putback of her own and added another bull-like bucket two minutes later. Two Sellnow free throws and four Hermanson freebies later, the Cheesemakers were long gone.
"It's tough with no school or practice the last couple of days, you don't know what you're going to get," Keen said. "I thought we responded very well and got out of the gates early."
Monroe was a portrait of consistency with 12 points in the first two quarters and 13 apiece in the final two periods.
Hermanson scored 12 points for Monroe (13-3, 9-1 Badger South) while McFarland (4-12, 2-9) was paced by Julia Thorson's 10 as the 6-2 junior cleaned up in garbage time.
Much like in the first meeting, Keen was afforded a chance to get every player into the ballgame.
"We'd like to be able to do that every game if possible," Keen said. "We told the kids before the game that we've got a three-game season left. This was goal number one. We've got our non-conference game Saturday (at Freeport), but we're really pointing toward Stoughton on Tuesday."