STOUGHTON - The showdown between the state's top two ranked Division 2 teams was all Beaver Dam as the Golden Beavers rolled to a 69-40 win over the Cheesemakers in the first ever girls basketball Badger Challenge Saturday.
Beaver Dam (11-2), ranked No. 1 in the Division 2 WisSports.net Coaches Poll, jumped on Monroe with a 25-8 run to start the game. Beaver Dam junior Tara Stauffacher scored a team-high 20 points.
Monroe junior Emily Benzschawel scored a game-high 21 points and made eight of 11 shots. The Cheesemakers (13-2), ranked No. 2, struggled shooting as a team, finishing at 33.3 percent (13 of 39).
The Cheesemakers cut the Beavers' lead to 12 points a couple times in the first half, but that's as close as they would get. Beaver Dam has beaten the Cheesemakers four times the past three years all by double digits, including a 62-47 loss in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals last year in Green Bay.
"It's a great game to be able to challenge ourselves," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said of the Badger Challenge. "You have an opportunity to use this as a measuring stick to see where we are at. We just have to learn and grow from it. We can't let it define our season."
Monroe junior Sydney Hilliard, a University of Wisconsin, UW-Green Bay, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee recruit, added 12 points. Beaver Dam freshman Maty Wilke, a UW and Marquette recruit, chipped in 9 points.
For the complete story and photos from the game, see Tuesday's Monroe Times.
Beaver Dam (11-2), ranked No. 1 in the Division 2 WisSports.net Coaches Poll, jumped on Monroe with a 25-8 run to start the game. Beaver Dam junior Tara Stauffacher scored a team-high 20 points.
Monroe junior Emily Benzschawel scored a game-high 21 points and made eight of 11 shots. The Cheesemakers (13-2), ranked No. 2, struggled shooting as a team, finishing at 33.3 percent (13 of 39).
The Cheesemakers cut the Beavers' lead to 12 points a couple times in the first half, but that's as close as they would get. Beaver Dam has beaten the Cheesemakers four times the past three years all by double digits, including a 62-47 loss in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals last year in Green Bay.
"It's a great game to be able to challenge ourselves," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said of the Badger Challenge. "You have an opportunity to use this as a measuring stick to see where we are at. We just have to learn and grow from it. We can't let it define our season."
Monroe junior Sydney Hilliard, a University of Wisconsin, UW-Green Bay, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee recruit, added 12 points. Beaver Dam freshman Maty Wilke, a UW and Marquette recruit, chipped in 9 points.
For the complete story and photos from the game, see Tuesday's Monroe Times.
