JANESVILLE - Monroe junior Kylee Ritschard determined the best way to break Union Grove's 1-3-1 zone defense was to shoot them out of it.
Ritschard had the hot hand scoring 14 of her 16 points in the second half to propel the Cheesemakers to a 48-37 win over the Broncos to win the WIAA Division 2 Janesville sectional championship Saturday. Monroe (25-1), ranked No. 1 in the Division 2 Associated Press state poll, advances to the state tournament for the third straight year. Monroe will play Winneconne (24-3) in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals at 1:35 p.m. Friday.
"I had a feeling," Ritschard said. "I knew we could do it. I knew our guards could hit some shots. Nothing can top this feeling. We have to keep going."
Although Union Grove didn't switch or go away from its 1-3-1 zone, Ritschard was unstoppable in the third quarter as she fueled a 16-0 run, which started at the end of the second quarter.
Ritschard scored seven of the Cheesemakers' 13 points during the third-quarter spurt and made three 3-pointers. She opened the third quarter by draining a jumper, burying a 3-pointer and then she scored on a reverse layup to give the Cheesemakers a 29-18 lead with 3 minutes, 55 seconds left in the period. Then, Monroe senior Gwen Sutter hit a jumper with 3:10 left to give the Cheesemakers their largest lead at 31-18.
"Once she got hot, we just kept feeding her the ball," Sutter said. "She was hot so why not. It's what we have been working for all season," she said of state. "It feels great to go to the Kohl Center for the first time."
Monroe coach Kevin Keen has guided the Cheesemakers to eight state tournament appearances and three state titles in his 22 years as the girls head coach. Now he has a chance to add a fourth title to his coaching tenure, which will end after this season; he announced his retirement as athletic director and from coaching earlier this year.
"It doesn't happen all the time," Keen said of going to state. "We have been fortunate. For the seniors it's just exciting to get there a third time in a row and finish their season at the Kohl Center. For some of the juniors they have never experienced the state tournament before. It's special for me too. There has been a lot of hard work by the kids, parents and youth coaches."
The Cheesemakers opened the first quarter by scoring seven consecutive points. Monroe senior Ashley Hermanson scored down low and senior Chelsea Brice came up with a steal and scored on a layup. Senior Jamie Armstrong, who scored nine points, hit a jumper in the lane and she was fouled. Armstrong converted the three-point play at the foul line to give the Cheesemakers a 7-0 lead.
"It feels amazing," Hermanson said. "It's just a dream come true."
The Broncos battled back when senior Rebekah Jasperson drained a 3-pointer to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 11-9. Union Grove senior Halyn Fink was fouled by Monroe junior Kyleigh Sellnow at the end of the first quarter and she made all three free throws to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 13-12.
The Cheesemakers scored just two points in the first 7 minutes of the second quarter. Monroe had an uncharacteristic nine first-half turnovers as the Broncos used their 1-3-1 zone to slow them down. Union Grove made 11 of 11 free throws in the first half and led 18-15. That's when Sellnow delivered by hitting a clutch 3-pointer with 51.9 seconds left to tie the game at 18 at halftime.
Armstrong said at the break the Cheesemakers talked about coming out with the same energy and intensity they played with in the first quarter. Monroe used a 13-0 spurt in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead.
"It was really good to see the way the team responded," Armstrong said. "We fought hard to make it. It feels so good that we could accomplish this goal."
Hermanson and Sutter scored seven points each and Brice added six.
"We were trying to attack the zone the whole game," Keen said. "We just didn't do a good job in the first half. Against any zone you will have to make some shots."
After the Broncos cut Monroe's lead to 35-31 with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter on Fink's two free throws, the Cheesemakers responded when Ritschard hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 38-31.
"Each game it has been someone different," Keen said as far as the Cheesemakers' leading scorer. "Today Kylee stepped up. I'm really proud of her. She had the confidence to step up and make those shots."
Ritschard had the hot hand scoring 14 of her 16 points in the second half to propel the Cheesemakers to a 48-37 win over the Broncos to win the WIAA Division 2 Janesville sectional championship Saturday. Monroe (25-1), ranked No. 1 in the Division 2 Associated Press state poll, advances to the state tournament for the third straight year. Monroe will play Winneconne (24-3) in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals at 1:35 p.m. Friday.
"I had a feeling," Ritschard said. "I knew we could do it. I knew our guards could hit some shots. Nothing can top this feeling. We have to keep going."
Although Union Grove didn't switch or go away from its 1-3-1 zone, Ritschard was unstoppable in the third quarter as she fueled a 16-0 run, which started at the end of the second quarter.
Ritschard scored seven of the Cheesemakers' 13 points during the third-quarter spurt and made three 3-pointers. She opened the third quarter by draining a jumper, burying a 3-pointer and then she scored on a reverse layup to give the Cheesemakers a 29-18 lead with 3 minutes, 55 seconds left in the period. Then, Monroe senior Gwen Sutter hit a jumper with 3:10 left to give the Cheesemakers their largest lead at 31-18.
"Once she got hot, we just kept feeding her the ball," Sutter said. "She was hot so why not. It's what we have been working for all season," she said of state. "It feels great to go to the Kohl Center for the first time."
Monroe coach Kevin Keen has guided the Cheesemakers to eight state tournament appearances and three state titles in his 22 years as the girls head coach. Now he has a chance to add a fourth title to his coaching tenure, which will end after this season; he announced his retirement as athletic director and from coaching earlier this year.
"It doesn't happen all the time," Keen said of going to state. "We have been fortunate. For the seniors it's just exciting to get there a third time in a row and finish their season at the Kohl Center. For some of the juniors they have never experienced the state tournament before. It's special for me too. There has been a lot of hard work by the kids, parents and youth coaches."
The Cheesemakers opened the first quarter by scoring seven consecutive points. Monroe senior Ashley Hermanson scored down low and senior Chelsea Brice came up with a steal and scored on a layup. Senior Jamie Armstrong, who scored nine points, hit a jumper in the lane and she was fouled. Armstrong converted the three-point play at the foul line to give the Cheesemakers a 7-0 lead.
"It feels amazing," Hermanson said. "It's just a dream come true."
The Broncos battled back when senior Rebekah Jasperson drained a 3-pointer to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 11-9. Union Grove senior Halyn Fink was fouled by Monroe junior Kyleigh Sellnow at the end of the first quarter and she made all three free throws to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 13-12.
The Cheesemakers scored just two points in the first 7 minutes of the second quarter. Monroe had an uncharacteristic nine first-half turnovers as the Broncos used their 1-3-1 zone to slow them down. Union Grove made 11 of 11 free throws in the first half and led 18-15. That's when Sellnow delivered by hitting a clutch 3-pointer with 51.9 seconds left to tie the game at 18 at halftime.
Armstrong said at the break the Cheesemakers talked about coming out with the same energy and intensity they played with in the first quarter. Monroe used a 13-0 spurt in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead.
"It was really good to see the way the team responded," Armstrong said. "We fought hard to make it. It feels so good that we could accomplish this goal."
Hermanson and Sutter scored seven points each and Brice added six.
"We were trying to attack the zone the whole game," Keen said. "We just didn't do a good job in the first half. Against any zone you will have to make some shots."
After the Broncos cut Monroe's lead to 35-31 with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter on Fink's two free throws, the Cheesemakers responded when Ritschard hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 38-31.
"Each game it has been someone different," Keen said as far as the Cheesemakers' leading scorer. "Today Kylee stepped up. I'm really proud of her. She had the confidence to step up and make those shots."
