MONONA - If the Cheesemakers girls basketball team decided to enter a gymnastics tournament they'd have one event down cold...the balance beam.
Ten of the 11 dressed Monroe players found their way into the scorebook during Saturday night's 62-32 road trouncing of Badger South Conference foe Monona Grove in a weather makeup game from December 11.
From the opening tip it looked like sophomore center Jamie Armstrong was going to be the offensive focus for Monroe (6-2 overall, 5-1 Badger South) as she scored the first four points. But two quick fouls relegated her to the bench and classmate Ashley Hermanson picked up the slack. The forward scored the next four points as the Cheesemakers began to blow the game wide open, making it 8-2 with only two-and-a-half minutes elapsed.
Armstrong's replacement, sophomore Morgan Kennison, made it 10-2 with a shot that left the gym gasping for air. Kennison used the window with a jumper from about 10 feet and the ball hula-hooped around the rim at least five times before finally tickling the twine.
Backup point guard Kyleigh Sellnow got into the scoring action with her first two with a steal and breakaway layup. Junior guard Emily Rufenacht couldn't miss out on getting into the big first quarter action and drilled a three-pointer from the right corner with 10 seconds left and pushed the Cheesemakers lead to 17-4 after one period.
Monroe head coach Kevin Keen enjoyed watching his team get back to basics after a tough loss at home to Verona on Thursday, the Cheesemakers first defeat in conference.
"We played hard and played as a team," Keen said. "That first quarter we had numerous baskets that were off of assists. We ran the offense. We made the extra pass."
Armstrong led Monroe with 12 points in the victory while Hermanson added 11. Sellnow had nine and Kennison added eight.
Monroe's first-half lead on the Silver Eagles (2-7 overall, 2-3 Badger South) grew to 16 when Hermanson connected on one of two free throws after being fouled by Jessica Schmitz. The Cheesemakers wasted little time extending their lead to 21 in the third quarter as sophomore point guard Gwen Sutter sank a bucket as the team moved the ball with precision from right to left.
Monona Grove was led by Hannah Alexander with 10 points - four coming in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Keen was concerned with sophomore Jessica Schmitz scoring abilities, but Calyn Bidlingmaier limited her to four points and the senior relishes the defensive stopper role.
"When we talked about her she had 20 points the night before we were supposed to play them," Bidlingmaier said. "So I knew she wanted the ball and she wanted to score, but I did everything I could to make her not."
Schmitz's visible frustrations with Bidlingmaier's defense led to a physical confrontation between the two and nothing that Bidlingmaier minded in the grand scheme of things.
"She got real upset with me," Bidlingmaier said. "That's what makes me happy. When they get mad enough to start pushing me and telling me to get off them and everything...that's my goal."
In the fourth quarter, reserves Sommer Bertalot, Kayla Rackow and Kylie Kaiser got their hands into action. Kaiser showed a sweet touch, drilling a 12-footer from the right wing and finished with four points on the game. Bertalot scored three points in the final two-plus minutes. First, she grabbed an offensive board and finished strong in the lane off a Rackow free-throw miss. Then she stood tall and drilled a 12-footer from the left-wing before being hacked by Cassie Blazer, making the score 58-31.
With 59 seconds to go in the game, Rackow didn't let up and jumped a pass to glide in for an easy layup.
"We got a lot of people involved and that's what happens when you play as a team," Keen said.
Ten of the 11 dressed Monroe players found their way into the scorebook during Saturday night's 62-32 road trouncing of Badger South Conference foe Monona Grove in a weather makeup game from December 11.
From the opening tip it looked like sophomore center Jamie Armstrong was going to be the offensive focus for Monroe (6-2 overall, 5-1 Badger South) as she scored the first four points. But two quick fouls relegated her to the bench and classmate Ashley Hermanson picked up the slack. The forward scored the next four points as the Cheesemakers began to blow the game wide open, making it 8-2 with only two-and-a-half minutes elapsed.
Armstrong's replacement, sophomore Morgan Kennison, made it 10-2 with a shot that left the gym gasping for air. Kennison used the window with a jumper from about 10 feet and the ball hula-hooped around the rim at least five times before finally tickling the twine.
Backup point guard Kyleigh Sellnow got into the scoring action with her first two with a steal and breakaway layup. Junior guard Emily Rufenacht couldn't miss out on getting into the big first quarter action and drilled a three-pointer from the right corner with 10 seconds left and pushed the Cheesemakers lead to 17-4 after one period.
Monroe head coach Kevin Keen enjoyed watching his team get back to basics after a tough loss at home to Verona on Thursday, the Cheesemakers first defeat in conference.
"We played hard and played as a team," Keen said. "That first quarter we had numerous baskets that were off of assists. We ran the offense. We made the extra pass."
Armstrong led Monroe with 12 points in the victory while Hermanson added 11. Sellnow had nine and Kennison added eight.
Monroe's first-half lead on the Silver Eagles (2-7 overall, 2-3 Badger South) grew to 16 when Hermanson connected on one of two free throws after being fouled by Jessica Schmitz. The Cheesemakers wasted little time extending their lead to 21 in the third quarter as sophomore point guard Gwen Sutter sank a bucket as the team moved the ball with precision from right to left.
Monona Grove was led by Hannah Alexander with 10 points - four coming in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Keen was concerned with sophomore Jessica Schmitz scoring abilities, but Calyn Bidlingmaier limited her to four points and the senior relishes the defensive stopper role.
"When we talked about her she had 20 points the night before we were supposed to play them," Bidlingmaier said. "So I knew she wanted the ball and she wanted to score, but I did everything I could to make her not."
Schmitz's visible frustrations with Bidlingmaier's defense led to a physical confrontation between the two and nothing that Bidlingmaier minded in the grand scheme of things.
"She got real upset with me," Bidlingmaier said. "That's what makes me happy. When they get mad enough to start pushing me and telling me to get off them and everything...that's my goal."
In the fourth quarter, reserves Sommer Bertalot, Kayla Rackow and Kylie Kaiser got their hands into action. Kaiser showed a sweet touch, drilling a 12-footer from the right wing and finished with four points on the game. Bertalot scored three points in the final two-plus minutes. First, she grabbed an offensive board and finished strong in the lane off a Rackow free-throw miss. Then she stood tall and drilled a 12-footer from the left-wing before being hacked by Cassie Blazer, making the score 58-31.
With 59 seconds to go in the game, Rackow didn't let up and jumped a pass to glide in for an easy layup.
"We got a lot of people involved and that's what happens when you play as a team," Keen said.
