MIDDLETON - With the game on the line late in the second half, Monroe junior point guard Sydney Hilliard's ability to find small openings and finish at the rim paid off as Monroe survived knocking off Stoughton 64-45 in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal game Thursday.
The final score was not indicative of how intense the game was most of the second half. When Stoughton senior Cassidy Bach drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to five-points, 48-43 with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left, the Cheesemakers didn't panic.
Hilliard, who scored a game-high 26 points, answered with a layup and was fouled with 2:45 to go. She sank the free throw to convert the conventional three-point play that sparked a 13-2 run by Monroe to close the game.
"That was a huge play with Sydney's and-1," said Monroe junior Emily Benzschawel, who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. "It got us all excited and gave us the energy to carry us through the game."
It marks the third time this season Monroe (23-2) has beaten Stoughton. With the win, the Cheesemakers advance to play Jefferson (24-1) in a WIAA Division 2 sectional championship at 4 p.m. Saturday in Sun Prairie.
"It feels awesome," Hilliard said of the win. "You just knew they would come at us with everything they had. We pushed it up the floor in the second half and our shots went in. It's just exciting we get to practice tomorrow to prepare for Saturday. Hopefully, we can get the win and get back to state. We are taking it one game at a time. Hopefully, we can get the win and make it."
Hilliard was fouled with 26.6 seconds to go. On the same possession, Stoughton head coach Brad Pickett was called for a technical foul as well as one of the Vikings' assistant coaches. The Cheesemakers made 5 of the 6 free throws to seal the win. Monroe finished the game shooting 74 percent at the free-throw line (21 of 29).
Hilliard and Benzschawel had plenty of help as the Cheesemakers had a balanced scoring attack. Monroe freshman Megan Benzschawel added 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds and senior Sydney Mathiason chipped in 10 points.
The key three-point play and two game-clinching layups by Hilliard are what Monroe coach Sam Mathiason has come to expect from his point guard who has scholarship offers to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, UW-Green Bay and Marquette among many others.
"She's just really good," Mathiason said. "She's just really good at finding space, creating space and finishing. She does so many things for the team. We have some really good players around her so teams can't just lock up on her. When you have that kind of balance it makes it difficult for other teams to take everyone away."
The Cheesemakers used a 2-3 zone most of the second half after switching from a man-to-man defense late in the first half. When the Vikings started drilling 3s, Mathiason had the Cheesemakers switch back to a man-to-man defense and Hilliard came up with two key steals down the stretch that led to baskets on the break.
"We had played a zone against Stoughton this year and it worked pretty good," Mathiason said. "We really wanted to change it up and give them different looks. We wanted to try to limit some of their penetration and we had some kids in foul trouble."
The Vikings made five 3s in the second half. Stoughton senior Paige Halverson and junior Emma Kissling each hit two 3s.
"Stoughton did a good job of making skip passes into the corner," Mathiason said. "We had a few possessions there where we didn't communicate and we didn't know who we were guarding. That wasn't very good. I'm just proud of these girls found a way to win and finish."
Early on, the showdown had the makings of one in which the Cheesemakers may run away with the victory. Monroe opened the first half with a 7-0 spurt after Emily Benzschawel buried a 3. Hilliard scored seven of the Cheesemakers' first 11 points. Sydney Mathiason hit her second 3-pointer to give Monroe a 17-11 lead with 9:27 left in the first half. The Cheesemakers led by as many as 10 points in the first half after Hilliard scored on a layup to extend the lead to 21-11 with 7:47 to go. Monroe led at the break by eight, 29-21.
Mathiason picked up her third foul early in the second half and was forced to the bench. Emily Benzschawel knocked down a jumper and scored on a layup to give the Cheesemakers' their largest lead up until that point at 39-27.
Halverson drilled a 3 with 6:04 left to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 42-38, but that's as close as they would get the rest of the way. Kissling finished with a team-high 13 points and Bach added 12. Halverson chipped in 10.
"We knew they would probably come out in the second half and pressure us more than they did in the first," Hilliard said. "We had a gameplan of where we needed to be on the press."
Emily Benzschawel was excited to knock off Stoughton for the third time this season and earn a return trip to the sectional final.
"Stoughton is really a good team," she said. "It feels amazing to get a win against them for the third time."
The final score was not indicative of how intense the game was most of the second half. When Stoughton senior Cassidy Bach drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to five-points, 48-43 with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left, the Cheesemakers didn't panic.
Hilliard, who scored a game-high 26 points, answered with a layup and was fouled with 2:45 to go. She sank the free throw to convert the conventional three-point play that sparked a 13-2 run by Monroe to close the game.
"That was a huge play with Sydney's and-1," said Monroe junior Emily Benzschawel, who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. "It got us all excited and gave us the energy to carry us through the game."
It marks the third time this season Monroe (23-2) has beaten Stoughton. With the win, the Cheesemakers advance to play Jefferson (24-1) in a WIAA Division 2 sectional championship at 4 p.m. Saturday in Sun Prairie.
"It feels awesome," Hilliard said of the win. "You just knew they would come at us with everything they had. We pushed it up the floor in the second half and our shots went in. It's just exciting we get to practice tomorrow to prepare for Saturday. Hopefully, we can get the win and get back to state. We are taking it one game at a time. Hopefully, we can get the win and make it."
Hilliard was fouled with 26.6 seconds to go. On the same possession, Stoughton head coach Brad Pickett was called for a technical foul as well as one of the Vikings' assistant coaches. The Cheesemakers made 5 of the 6 free throws to seal the win. Monroe finished the game shooting 74 percent at the free-throw line (21 of 29).
Hilliard and Benzschawel had plenty of help as the Cheesemakers had a balanced scoring attack. Monroe freshman Megan Benzschawel added 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds and senior Sydney Mathiason chipped in 10 points.
The key three-point play and two game-clinching layups by Hilliard are what Monroe coach Sam Mathiason has come to expect from his point guard who has scholarship offers to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, UW-Green Bay and Marquette among many others.
"She's just really good," Mathiason said. "She's just really good at finding space, creating space and finishing. She does so many things for the team. We have some really good players around her so teams can't just lock up on her. When you have that kind of balance it makes it difficult for other teams to take everyone away."
The Cheesemakers used a 2-3 zone most of the second half after switching from a man-to-man defense late in the first half. When the Vikings started drilling 3s, Mathiason had the Cheesemakers switch back to a man-to-man defense and Hilliard came up with two key steals down the stretch that led to baskets on the break.
"We had played a zone against Stoughton this year and it worked pretty good," Mathiason said. "We really wanted to change it up and give them different looks. We wanted to try to limit some of their penetration and we had some kids in foul trouble."
The Vikings made five 3s in the second half. Stoughton senior Paige Halverson and junior Emma Kissling each hit two 3s.
"Stoughton did a good job of making skip passes into the corner," Mathiason said. "We had a few possessions there where we didn't communicate and we didn't know who we were guarding. That wasn't very good. I'm just proud of these girls found a way to win and finish."
Early on, the showdown had the makings of one in which the Cheesemakers may run away with the victory. Monroe opened the first half with a 7-0 spurt after Emily Benzschawel buried a 3. Hilliard scored seven of the Cheesemakers' first 11 points. Sydney Mathiason hit her second 3-pointer to give Monroe a 17-11 lead with 9:27 left in the first half. The Cheesemakers led by as many as 10 points in the first half after Hilliard scored on a layup to extend the lead to 21-11 with 7:47 to go. Monroe led at the break by eight, 29-21.
Mathiason picked up her third foul early in the second half and was forced to the bench. Emily Benzschawel knocked down a jumper and scored on a layup to give the Cheesemakers' their largest lead up until that point at 39-27.
Halverson drilled a 3 with 6:04 left to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 42-38, but that's as close as they would get the rest of the way. Kissling finished with a team-high 13 points and Bach added 12. Halverson chipped in 10.
"We knew they would probably come out in the second half and pressure us more than they did in the first," Hilliard said. "We had a gameplan of where we needed to be on the press."
Emily Benzschawel was excited to knock off Stoughton for the third time this season and earn a return trip to the sectional final.
"Stoughton is really a good team," she said. "It feels amazing to get a win against them for the third time."
