MILTON - The Monroe girls basketball team had their chances to tie the game down the stretch, but Milton made some clutch free throws and fended off the Cheesemakers for a 59-57 victory on Friday.
It was the third straight game that came down to the wire for Monroe (7-10, 3-6 Badger South) and was the first conference win for Milton (6-10, 1-7).
Milton's Kailey Harbort scored a team-high 20 points and was 18 of 18 from the free-throw line. Harbort made two free throws with 1 minute left to give Milton a 57-53 lead. Monroe sophomore Sydney Mathiason made two free throws with 48 seconds to go to cut the Red Hawks' lead to 57-55.
Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard, who scored a game-high 22 points, missed a driving shot late, and senior Hannah Vetterli missed a potential game-tying putback. The Red Hawks were clinging to a two-point lead with 9 seconds to go when Milton's Hailey Campion missed a pair of free throws. The Cheesemakers had one last chance. Hilliard drove the lane but couldn't get a shot off as the Red Hawks swarmed her right before the buzzer sounded.
"It's one of those situations where we didn't have a timeout," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "We were hoping to get a good drive. Milton did a good job of trying to converge and caved in on her (Hilliard). We hung around and gave ourselves chances."
The Cheesemakers battled back from an early six-point deficit in the first half. Hilliard scored converted the three-point play to tie the game at 12.
Milton again extended their lead when Emma Martin scored on a layup to give the Red Hawks a 22-16 lead with about 8 minutes left. The Cheesemakers rallied from a nine-point deficit when Hilliard drilled a 3-pointer with 1:50 to go in the first half to tie the game at 29.
The second half was a seesaw affair.
Harbort provided a challenge for the Cheesemakers on defense.
"Harbort is a tough matchup," Mathiason said. "She has the size to play in the post, but she's also good enough off the dribble. We just didn't get our help over there fast enough."
Milton made 26 of 33 free throws, and the Cheesemakers made 18 of 24.
The late game situations are areas the Cheesemakers will continue to work on.
"As long as we keep learning and improving from this game that is what matters," Mathiason said. "Next time we are in those situations we will be a little bit better."
Freshman Emily Benzschawel added 11 points for Monroe.
It was the third straight game that came down to the wire for Monroe (7-10, 3-6 Badger South) and was the first conference win for Milton (6-10, 1-7).
Milton's Kailey Harbort scored a team-high 20 points and was 18 of 18 from the free-throw line. Harbort made two free throws with 1 minute left to give Milton a 57-53 lead. Monroe sophomore Sydney Mathiason made two free throws with 48 seconds to go to cut the Red Hawks' lead to 57-55.
Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard, who scored a game-high 22 points, missed a driving shot late, and senior Hannah Vetterli missed a potential game-tying putback. The Red Hawks were clinging to a two-point lead with 9 seconds to go when Milton's Hailey Campion missed a pair of free throws. The Cheesemakers had one last chance. Hilliard drove the lane but couldn't get a shot off as the Red Hawks swarmed her right before the buzzer sounded.
"It's one of those situations where we didn't have a timeout," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "We were hoping to get a good drive. Milton did a good job of trying to converge and caved in on her (Hilliard). We hung around and gave ourselves chances."
The Cheesemakers battled back from an early six-point deficit in the first half. Hilliard scored converted the three-point play to tie the game at 12.
Milton again extended their lead when Emma Martin scored on a layup to give the Red Hawks a 22-16 lead with about 8 minutes left. The Cheesemakers rallied from a nine-point deficit when Hilliard drilled a 3-pointer with 1:50 to go in the first half to tie the game at 29.
The second half was a seesaw affair.
Harbort provided a challenge for the Cheesemakers on defense.
"Harbort is a tough matchup," Mathiason said. "She has the size to play in the post, but she's also good enough off the dribble. We just didn't get our help over there fast enough."
Milton made 26 of 33 free throws, and the Cheesemakers made 18 of 24.
The late game situations are areas the Cheesemakers will continue to work on.
"As long as we keep learning and improving from this game that is what matters," Mathiason said. "Next time we are in those situations we will be a little bit better."
Freshman Emily Benzschawel added 11 points for Monroe.
