MONROE - The Monroe girls basketball team used an aggressive defense to force turnovers and that turned into instant offense on the fastbreak as the Cheesemakers rolled to a 70-32 win over Delavan-Darien in a non-conference game on Saturday.
Monroe sophomore Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 25 points, 10 steals, seven rebounds and five assists. All nine of Monroe's players saw playing time and eight players scored.
"Any time you can turn those turnovers into points, it's a positive," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "If you want to beat the really good teams, you have to play good on the defensive end."
Monroe (9-1, 5-0 Badger South), ranked fourth in the WisSports.net Division 2 Coaches poll, has won four straight games.
The Cheesemakers opened the game with a 19-4 run. Monroe junior Sydney Mathiason hit two 3-pointers and Hilliard had several steals and layups during the spurt. The Cheesemakers never relinquished the lead after the big surge to start the game.
Monroe sophomore Emily Benzschawel added 11 points and Mathiason had 10 points. Senior teammate Jordan Hirsbrunner chipped in eight points.
Coach Mathiason didn't expect a 9-1 start, but he's not satisfied. It's a big week for the Cheesemakers with three games: Monroe will play at ninth-ranked Waunakee (9-1) on Tuesday before playing a Badger South Conference showdown at Monona Grove on Friday. The Cheesemakers will then host Freeport in the Snack Bowl at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
"We have played some really good teams and won some close games," he said. "It's hard to predict how it would all work out early on. We just try to be prepared and play our best each game. We try to take it one game at a time. We know we have some tough games coming up. We know we still have some work to do to get to where we want to go. We just have to keep working and see what the results are at the end."
Monroe sophomore Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 25 points, 10 steals, seven rebounds and five assists. All nine of Monroe's players saw playing time and eight players scored.
"Any time you can turn those turnovers into points, it's a positive," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "If you want to beat the really good teams, you have to play good on the defensive end."
Monroe (9-1, 5-0 Badger South), ranked fourth in the WisSports.net Division 2 Coaches poll, has won four straight games.
The Cheesemakers opened the game with a 19-4 run. Monroe junior Sydney Mathiason hit two 3-pointers and Hilliard had several steals and layups during the spurt. The Cheesemakers never relinquished the lead after the big surge to start the game.
Monroe sophomore Emily Benzschawel added 11 points and Mathiason had 10 points. Senior teammate Jordan Hirsbrunner chipped in eight points.
Coach Mathiason didn't expect a 9-1 start, but he's not satisfied. It's a big week for the Cheesemakers with three games: Monroe will play at ninth-ranked Waunakee (9-1) on Tuesday before playing a Badger South Conference showdown at Monona Grove on Friday. The Cheesemakers will then host Freeport in the Snack Bowl at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
"We have played some really good teams and won some close games," he said. "It's hard to predict how it would all work out early on. We just try to be prepared and play our best each game. We try to take it one game at a time. We know we have some tough games coming up. We know we still have some work to do to get to where we want to go. We just have to keep working and see what the results are at the end."
