MONROE - After the Monroe High School girls basketball team jumped out to a 15-point lead in the second half against Mount Horeb, it could have been easy for doubt to creep into Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard's mind.
The Vikings stormed back, but the Cheesemakers weathered the storm and made critical plays down the stretch to escape with a 46-39 win over Mount Horeb in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal Tuesday night.
"It was closer than I thought it would be," Hilliard said. "We pushed through it. Mount Horeb was 6-2 this month. It was nice to pull it off. It shows our competitiveness."
It marked the fourth straight time Monroe has played Mount Horeb in the tournament. The Vikings had knocked off the Cheesemakers the past two years.
Monroe (10-13) advances to the regional semifinals to play at Stoughton, the fourth-ranked team in the Division 2 Associated Press state poll, on Friday.
Hilliard scored a team-high 11 points and had six rebounds. Monroe sophomore Sydney Mathiason added nine points, and junior Lexi Hilliard had seven points. Freshman teammate Emily Benzschawel chipped in six points.
Mount Horeb junior Nikki Arneson scored on a layup with 1 minute, 4 seconds left to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 41-39. The Cheesemakers answered with junior Jordan Hirsbrunner scoring on a layup with 50.5 seconds to go to push the lead back to four points. The Cheesemakers made 3 of 5 free throws in the final 27.9 seconds to seal the win.
"We were able to lock in our defense and make our baskets when we needed to," Mathiason said. "It was definitely a team game. Any time you are able to break the press and get a layup, it's a key play."
Arneson scored a game-high 15 points on 12 shots. Both Sydney Mathiason and Hirsbrunner were charged with the task of slowing her down.
"Our gameplan all along was to make it hard for her (Arneson) to score, and I think we did that," Sydney Mathiason said.
Monroe coach Sam Mathiason liked the defense the Cheesemakers played on Arneson.
"I thought both Sydney Mathiason and Jordan made Arneson really have to work to score," he said. "She really had to work hard for her 15 points. We switched them off of her so they stayed fresh and had enough energy."
Early on, it appeared Monroe would run away with the victory. Monroe senior Hannah Vetterli scored twice down low to help the Cheesemakers build an 8-1 lead.
The Cheesemakers closed the first half with a 21-11 run. Benzschawel hit a jumper and junior Alicia Kuester scored on a putback to extend the lead to 18-8 with 7:35 left. Sydney Hilliard and senior Brooke Adams both drilled 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 29-16 lead with 1:36 to go. Hilliard scored on a layup late to give the Cheesemakers a 31-17 lead at the half.
The Vikings shot 27.2 percent in the first half (6 of 22) and finished the game at 31.8 percent (14 of 44).
"We told them at halftime that Mount Horeb would make a run," Sam Mathiason said. "Mount Horeb has been playing good in February. The only game they lost like this was against DeForest who won the Badger North. We had some big possessions, and we didn't let them get anything easy to finish it off."
The Vikings went on an 11-0 run early in the second half that coincided with the Cheesemakers going through an 7-minute scoring drought. The Cheesemakers battled through the tough times and made critical plays down the stretch to win.
"They made it tough on us," Sam Mathiason said. "We talked about pushing it (the lead) out. We didn't move the ball as well as we should have on the offensive end. We probably got a little hesitant."
Mount Horeb junior Jessica Fisher drilled a 3-pointer and senior Abby Epping knocked down a jumper to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 33-28. Arneson came up with a steal and scored on a layup with 2:35 left to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 39-35. That set the stage for a tense finish.
"When we had the ball in the middle of the court we were a little undisciplined and it led to some turnovers," Sam Mathiason said. "We talked a lot about it, but until you see it you just have to be ready for it. We just have to get better at it."
The Cheesemakers committed 15 turnovers.
Monroe will have two practices to prepare for Stoughton. The Vikings have beaten the Cheesemakers twice this season by an average of 22 points.
"I think we will be able to compete," Hilliard said. "I don't know what will happen in the end. I'm not saying we will win. I would rather have us play really hard and lose than to not play well and lose."
The Cheesemakers will work on installing a gameplan for the Vikings today.
"Stoughton has really been playing well, and they are a tough team," Sam Mathiason said. "We will have our work cut out for us. It will be a tough challenge."
The Vikings stormed back, but the Cheesemakers weathered the storm and made critical plays down the stretch to escape with a 46-39 win over Mount Horeb in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal Tuesday night.
"It was closer than I thought it would be," Hilliard said. "We pushed through it. Mount Horeb was 6-2 this month. It was nice to pull it off. It shows our competitiveness."
It marked the fourth straight time Monroe has played Mount Horeb in the tournament. The Vikings had knocked off the Cheesemakers the past two years.
Monroe (10-13) advances to the regional semifinals to play at Stoughton, the fourth-ranked team in the Division 2 Associated Press state poll, on Friday.
Hilliard scored a team-high 11 points and had six rebounds. Monroe sophomore Sydney Mathiason added nine points, and junior Lexi Hilliard had seven points. Freshman teammate Emily Benzschawel chipped in six points.
Mount Horeb junior Nikki Arneson scored on a layup with 1 minute, 4 seconds left to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 41-39. The Cheesemakers answered with junior Jordan Hirsbrunner scoring on a layup with 50.5 seconds to go to push the lead back to four points. The Cheesemakers made 3 of 5 free throws in the final 27.9 seconds to seal the win.
"We were able to lock in our defense and make our baskets when we needed to," Mathiason said. "It was definitely a team game. Any time you are able to break the press and get a layup, it's a key play."
Arneson scored a game-high 15 points on 12 shots. Both Sydney Mathiason and Hirsbrunner were charged with the task of slowing her down.
"Our gameplan all along was to make it hard for her (Arneson) to score, and I think we did that," Sydney Mathiason said.
Monroe coach Sam Mathiason liked the defense the Cheesemakers played on Arneson.
"I thought both Sydney Mathiason and Jordan made Arneson really have to work to score," he said. "She really had to work hard for her 15 points. We switched them off of her so they stayed fresh and had enough energy."
Early on, it appeared Monroe would run away with the victory. Monroe senior Hannah Vetterli scored twice down low to help the Cheesemakers build an 8-1 lead.
The Cheesemakers closed the first half with a 21-11 run. Benzschawel hit a jumper and junior Alicia Kuester scored on a putback to extend the lead to 18-8 with 7:35 left. Sydney Hilliard and senior Brooke Adams both drilled 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 29-16 lead with 1:36 to go. Hilliard scored on a layup late to give the Cheesemakers a 31-17 lead at the half.
The Vikings shot 27.2 percent in the first half (6 of 22) and finished the game at 31.8 percent (14 of 44).
"We told them at halftime that Mount Horeb would make a run," Sam Mathiason said. "Mount Horeb has been playing good in February. The only game they lost like this was against DeForest who won the Badger North. We had some big possessions, and we didn't let them get anything easy to finish it off."
The Vikings went on an 11-0 run early in the second half that coincided with the Cheesemakers going through an 7-minute scoring drought. The Cheesemakers battled through the tough times and made critical plays down the stretch to win.
"They made it tough on us," Sam Mathiason said. "We talked about pushing it (the lead) out. We didn't move the ball as well as we should have on the offensive end. We probably got a little hesitant."
Mount Horeb junior Jessica Fisher drilled a 3-pointer and senior Abby Epping knocked down a jumper to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 33-28. Arneson came up with a steal and scored on a layup with 2:35 left to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 39-35. That set the stage for a tense finish.
"When we had the ball in the middle of the court we were a little undisciplined and it led to some turnovers," Sam Mathiason said. "We talked a lot about it, but until you see it you just have to be ready for it. We just have to get better at it."
The Cheesemakers committed 15 turnovers.
Monroe will have two practices to prepare for Stoughton. The Vikings have beaten the Cheesemakers twice this season by an average of 22 points.
"I think we will be able to compete," Hilliard said. "I don't know what will happen in the end. I'm not saying we will win. I would rather have us play really hard and lose than to not play well and lose."
The Cheesemakers will work on installing a gameplan for the Vikings today.
"Stoughton has really been playing well, and they are a tough team," Sam Mathiason said. "We will have our work cut out for us. It will be a tough challenge."
