MONROE - Monroe girls basketball coach Sam Mathiason talked about defending the pick and roll against Oregon senior Leah Koopman Tuesday night.
The defense on the screen remains a work in progress after Koopman scored a game-high 25 points and knocked down five 3-pointers to propel the Panthers to a 71-65 win over Monroe.
"I thought offensively we did really good," Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard, who scored a team-high 22 points. "Our defense needs some work. We were supposed to double the screen. We didn't do it. It's a team game. There were a lot of people who could drive. It's hard to stop a team where everyone can do it from their post to point guard. Defense leads to offense. We just have to keep working on defense and the offense will come."
Oregon (6-8, 5-2 Badger South) led by as many as 12 points. The Cheesemakers (5-9, 2-5 Badger South) rallied from a 12-point deficit twice. Monroe sophomore Sydney Mathiason, who scored 19 points and hit three 3-pointers, drilled a 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 19 seconds left to cut the Panthers' lead to 56-52. Koopman then answered by knocking down a 3-pointer. Hilliard scored on a layup with 3:35 left to cut the Panthers' lead to 64-58. Hilliard hit a 3-pointer and freshman Emily Benzschawel scored on a layup to slice the Panthers' lead to 66-63 with 1:23 to go.
The Cheesemakers looked to come up with a steal by setting up a halfcourt trap. The Panthers made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 48.4 seconds to seal the win.
Sam Mathiason understands to beat one of the top four teams in the Badger South Conference, the Cheesemakers need a consistent defensive game.
"Both Koopman and (Cassidy) Nikolai are good coming off the screen," he said. "Sometimes when they hit two, three or four they get in a hot streak. We knew we had to get out on them. In the first half, they were refusing the screen and driving baseline and we didn't have a good rotation. We made an adjustment at halftime and tried to trap the pick a little more."
Koopman made three of her five 3-pointers in the second half. The Panthers scored on several layups and shot 60 percent in the second half (12 of 20) and finished 56.2 percent (27 of 48). The Panthers had seven offensive rebounds in the first half that led to several second-chance scoring opportunities.
"It comes down to being better defensively," coach Mathiason said. "Against a lot of the better teams we have scored enough points to win. We have just been giving up too many points. We have to get better."
Benzschawel added 12 points and junior Lexi Hilliard had five points including a big 3-pointer that cut the Panthers' lead to seven points in the second half.
The Panthers played a 1-2-2 zone and looked to limit Hilliard's ability to penetrate. The Cheesemakers struggled early on, shooting just 34.6 percent in the first half (9 of 26). However, the Cheesemakers battled back from a 12-point deficit in the first half. Sydney Mathiason scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half to keep the Cheesemakers within striking distance. Hilliard scored on a layup with 10.4 seconds to go in the first half to slice the Panthers' lead to 34-27.
The second half was a different story. The Cheesemakers shot 51.7 percent and opened with a bang when senior Brooke Adams buried a 3-pointer.
"Any time someone plays a zone, you will have more passes," Sam Mathiason said. "I thought we did a much better job in the second half of moving the ball, finding the open shots and knocking them down. You have to try to find the holes in the zone."
The defense on the screen remains a work in progress after Koopman scored a game-high 25 points and knocked down five 3-pointers to propel the Panthers to a 71-65 win over Monroe.
"I thought offensively we did really good," Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard, who scored a team-high 22 points. "Our defense needs some work. We were supposed to double the screen. We didn't do it. It's a team game. There were a lot of people who could drive. It's hard to stop a team where everyone can do it from their post to point guard. Defense leads to offense. We just have to keep working on defense and the offense will come."
Oregon (6-8, 5-2 Badger South) led by as many as 12 points. The Cheesemakers (5-9, 2-5 Badger South) rallied from a 12-point deficit twice. Monroe sophomore Sydney Mathiason, who scored 19 points and hit three 3-pointers, drilled a 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 19 seconds left to cut the Panthers' lead to 56-52. Koopman then answered by knocking down a 3-pointer. Hilliard scored on a layup with 3:35 left to cut the Panthers' lead to 64-58. Hilliard hit a 3-pointer and freshman Emily Benzschawel scored on a layup to slice the Panthers' lead to 66-63 with 1:23 to go.
The Cheesemakers looked to come up with a steal by setting up a halfcourt trap. The Panthers made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 48.4 seconds to seal the win.
Sam Mathiason understands to beat one of the top four teams in the Badger South Conference, the Cheesemakers need a consistent defensive game.
"Both Koopman and (Cassidy) Nikolai are good coming off the screen," he said. "Sometimes when they hit two, three or four they get in a hot streak. We knew we had to get out on them. In the first half, they were refusing the screen and driving baseline and we didn't have a good rotation. We made an adjustment at halftime and tried to trap the pick a little more."
Koopman made three of her five 3-pointers in the second half. The Panthers scored on several layups and shot 60 percent in the second half (12 of 20) and finished 56.2 percent (27 of 48). The Panthers had seven offensive rebounds in the first half that led to several second-chance scoring opportunities.
"It comes down to being better defensively," coach Mathiason said. "Against a lot of the better teams we have scored enough points to win. We have just been giving up too many points. We have to get better."
Benzschawel added 12 points and junior Lexi Hilliard had five points including a big 3-pointer that cut the Panthers' lead to seven points in the second half.
The Panthers played a 1-2-2 zone and looked to limit Hilliard's ability to penetrate. The Cheesemakers struggled early on, shooting just 34.6 percent in the first half (9 of 26). However, the Cheesemakers battled back from a 12-point deficit in the first half. Sydney Mathiason scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half to keep the Cheesemakers within striking distance. Hilliard scored on a layup with 10.4 seconds to go in the first half to slice the Panthers' lead to 34-27.
The second half was a different story. The Cheesemakers shot 51.7 percent and opened with a bang when senior Brooke Adams buried a 3-pointer.
"Any time someone plays a zone, you will have more passes," Sam Mathiason said. "I thought we did a much better job in the second half of moving the ball, finding the open shots and knocking them down. You have to try to find the holes in the zone."
