WIAA DIVISION 2 SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL
Monroe vs. Stoughton
7 p.m. Thursday
at Sun Prairie High School
MONROE - Monroe High School sophomore point guard Sydney Hilliard's winning connection with Stoughton is undeniable.
She plays AAU basketball in the summer for a Wisconsin Academy national team with Stoughton juniors Emma Kissling and Peighton Trieloff. Hilliard's cousin, Hannah Hobson, who graduated from Stoughton last year, plays college basketball at Michigan Tech.
There's no denying where her allegiance will be as the Monroe girls basketball team (19-3), ranked seventh in the Associated Press Division 2 state poll, rolls into a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal against third-ranked Stoughton (21-3) at 7 p.m. today at Sun Prairie High School. The Cheesemakers standout is looking to drive Monroe into the state tournament for the first time since 2010.
The bond she has formed playing with Kissling and Trieloff will not stand in the way of her mission tonight. She's looking to shoot the Cheesemakers into a sectional championship game and move her team one step closer to making a trip to Green Bay for the state tournament.
"We are used to passing to each other playing on the same team," Hilliard said. "Now, we will be guarding each other. It will be a little different. There will be a large crowd. It should be exciting."
She understands her cousin, Hobson, is in a pickle with whom to root for in the matchup.
"I think she is cheering for Lexi and I, but she is pulling for Stoughton to win because that is where she went to school," Hilliard said. "It's hard for her because she is in the middle."
With each win, every game gets bigger for the Cheeemakers. Hilliard, who has received scholarship offers from the University of Wisconsin, Marquette, UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado, is thrilled by the support of the community.
Monroe is two wins away from making a trip to state.
"I'm sure there will be a big crowd," she said. "It will be a tough and exciting game."
Hilliard is averaging 19 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game. She leads the team in scoring, rebounds, steals and assists (3.3 per game) and field-goal percentage (60.2 percent). She's second on the team in blocked shots (19) behind junior teammate Sydney Mathiason (36).
Hilliard excels at driving to the basket and scoring at the rim. By nature, Hilliard is an unselfish player, who thrives at creating scoring opportunities for teammates.
"Sydney along with McKenna Warnock of Monona Grove are two players from our conference out of four in the state who have received Division I offers," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "By using that as a metric, Sydney is one of the best sophomore basketball players in the state.
"She has the unique ability to drive to the basket. She has the ability to find the seams in the defense, get to the basket and finish."
The defensive anticipation and court awareness Hilliard displays often lead to game-changing steals for the Cheesemakers.
"She has that knack to be able to get her hands on the ball and get that steal," Mathiason said. "Any time you can turn your defense into offense it's great."
Monroe shared the Badger South Conference championship with Stoughton and Madison Edgewood this season, splitting two games with the Vikings this year. The Cheesemakers tipped Stoughton 51-50 Dec. 15 in Monroe and then lost to the Vikings 52-50 Jan. 31 on the road. After knocking off the state's top-ranked Division 3 power in Edgewood and Stoughton early in the season, the expectations sky-rocketed for Monroe.
"I knew we were a more athletic team," Hilliard said. "Everyone on our team is athletic and has the ability to finish at the rim. We wanted to win the conference. There are not many people who get to win a conference and a regional. I'm lucky to finally be on a team that gets to cut down the net."
The one part of her game she is working on developing is her outside shooting. Hilliard is shooting 25.8 percent (8 of 31) from 3-point range this season.
She understands wide-open drives against the Vikings will be hard to come by tonight.
"Stoughton is a really good defensive team," she said. "I will probably have to shoot more jumpers. I have worked on my 3-point shooting. It's not that I can't make them. I just have to get my confidence level up. Once I start hitting some jumpers, they will come out and I can drive to the basket. We will have to be confident shooting outside, and we will have to have good movement on offense."
The Vikings have outrebounded the Cheesemakers in their two previous meetings. It's an area Mathiason has stressed in practice leading up to the showdown.
"The two big keys for us will be playing good defense and rebounding," Mathiason said. "They don't take a lot of shots, but the ones they do take are high quality. We have to do a good job on the defensive end because they have a lot of girls who can score."
She plays AAU basketball in the summer for a Wisconsin Academy national team with Stoughton juniors Emma Kissling and Peighton Trieloff. Hilliard's cousin, Hannah Hobson, who graduated from Stoughton last year, plays college basketball at Michigan Tech.
There's no denying where her allegiance will be as the Monroe girls basketball team (19-3), ranked seventh in the Associated Press Division 2 state poll, rolls into a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal against third-ranked Stoughton (21-3) at 7 p.m. today at Sun Prairie High School. The Cheesemakers standout is looking to drive Monroe into the state tournament for the first time since 2010.
The bond she has formed playing with Kissling and Trieloff will not stand in the way of her mission tonight. She's looking to shoot the Cheesemakers into a sectional championship game and move her team one step closer to making a trip to Green Bay for the state tournament.
"We are used to passing to each other playing on the same team," Hilliard said. "Now, we will be guarding each other. It will be a little different. There will be a large crowd. It should be exciting."
She understands her cousin, Hobson, is in a pickle with whom to root for in the matchup.
"I think she is cheering for Lexi and I, but she is pulling for Stoughton to win because that is where she went to school," Hilliard said. "It's hard for her because she is in the middle."
With each win, every game gets bigger for the Cheeemakers. Hilliard, who has received scholarship offers from the University of Wisconsin, Marquette, UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado, is thrilled by the support of the community.
Monroe is two wins away from making a trip to state.
"I'm sure there will be a big crowd," she said. "It will be a tough and exciting game."
Hilliard is averaging 19 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game. She leads the team in scoring, rebounds, steals and assists (3.3 per game) and field-goal percentage (60.2 percent). She's second on the team in blocked shots (19) behind junior teammate Sydney Mathiason (36).
Hilliard excels at driving to the basket and scoring at the rim. By nature, Hilliard is an unselfish player, who thrives at creating scoring opportunities for teammates.
"Sydney along with McKenna Warnock of Monona Grove are two players from our conference out of four in the state who have received Division I offers," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "By using that as a metric, Sydney is one of the best sophomore basketball players in the state.
"She has the unique ability to drive to the basket. She has the ability to find the seams in the defense, get to the basket and finish."
The defensive anticipation and court awareness Hilliard displays often lead to game-changing steals for the Cheesemakers.
"She has that knack to be able to get her hands on the ball and get that steal," Mathiason said. "Any time you can turn your defense into offense it's great."
Monroe shared the Badger South Conference championship with Stoughton and Madison Edgewood this season, splitting two games with the Vikings this year. The Cheesemakers tipped Stoughton 51-50 Dec. 15 in Monroe and then lost to the Vikings 52-50 Jan. 31 on the road. After knocking off the state's top-ranked Division 3 power in Edgewood and Stoughton early in the season, the expectations sky-rocketed for Monroe.
"I knew we were a more athletic team," Hilliard said. "Everyone on our team is athletic and has the ability to finish at the rim. We wanted to win the conference. There are not many people who get to win a conference and a regional. I'm lucky to finally be on a team that gets to cut down the net."
The one part of her game she is working on developing is her outside shooting. Hilliard is shooting 25.8 percent (8 of 31) from 3-point range this season.
She understands wide-open drives against the Vikings will be hard to come by tonight.
"Stoughton is a really good defensive team," she said. "I will probably have to shoot more jumpers. I have worked on my 3-point shooting. It's not that I can't make them. I just have to get my confidence level up. Once I start hitting some jumpers, they will come out and I can drive to the basket. We will have to be confident shooting outside, and we will have to have good movement on offense."
The Vikings have outrebounded the Cheesemakers in their two previous meetings. It's an area Mathiason has stressed in practice leading up to the showdown.
"The two big keys for us will be playing good defense and rebounding," Mathiason said. "They don't take a lot of shots, but the ones they do take are high quality. We have to do a good job on the defensive end because they have a lot of girls who can score."
