MADISON - Don't look now, but the Lady Cheesemakers' title match opponent today has an awful lot of artillery in its possession.
Enter the Freedom Irish, disruptors of Grafton's back-to-back championships plan. Not to mention that one might say that this, the preamble to St. Patrick's Day, is the upstart club's weekend.
Whereas the Railroaders came up a few meters of track short of catching the Cheesemakers on Friday afternoon, the Irish overcame a 16-9 deficit after one quarter and ultimately derailed the Black Hawks' quest for a second straight golden ball.
Freedom forced two of Grafton's first-team All-North Shore Conference athletes to foul out. They gritted, they grinded and even survived overtime and advanced, 65-61, after Grafton's Nicole Brandenburg forced overtime with a 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation.
Life got a lot easier for Irish 6-footers Stacie Van Handel and Trisha Zwiers, first-team selections in the Eastern Valley Conference this season, when Grafton junior Sarah Eichler fouled out with more than half the fourth quarter left.
Van Handel and Zwiers scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, while red-headed, pesky guard Kristin Verhagen added 13 and hit two 3s.
When Grafton's Miami (Ohio)-bound senior Rachael Hencke fouled out with 27 points in overtime, it was all over but the crying for the Black Hawks.
The Irish eyes, on the other hand, were smiling as the club improves to 1-0 in its school's state tournament history.
"Not a bad way to get your first one, huh?" Freedom coach Mike Vander Loop said.
Today, the Irish face a club that's made a happy home in postseason play. Like Grafton, Monroe is participating in its sixth state tournament and is just two years removed from its 2006 title.
The Lady Cheesemakers are one of very few Division 2 teams that can counter Freedom's combination of both height and the ability to run the floor with its bigs. Jamie Armstrong, a 6-1 post, is a threat to shoot from anywhere on the floor and even finds herself bringing the ball up off rebounds if her outlets are covered. Ashley Hermanson has deceptive agility for someone who can bully her defenders inside with the best of them.
Friday, the Irish sat back in a zone that stymied the Black Hawks' attempts to work the ball inside. Today, don't be surprised if they cover a bit more floor after Altoona's full-court pressure gave Monroe fits.
"I don't think anyone could put as much pressure on us as Altoona did," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. "After Freedom saw what pressure did to us today, I would be surprised if they didn't press us."
Look for Monroe's captains, junior Emily Rufenacht and senior Calyn Bidlingmaier, to set the tone the same way they did Friday. Rufenacht offered a lesson in resilience by plowing through a shooting slump weeks back, but now that feels like years ago - that is if she remembers it at all.
"I'm a shooter, so I just forget about everything and have a short-term memory," Rufenacht said.
Rufenacht's propensity for rapid-fire scoring is the tangible difference-maker, but sometimes a little vocal leading goes a long way.
"We like to yell," Bidlingmaier said. "It's not mean or hurtful yelling, moreso just to get them pumped up. That's what we do."
The duo complements the rest of their club, an easy-going group, quite well.
Keen's just happy they all have a bit of Rufenacht's short-term memory.
"These kids are young and resilient, unlike their coach," Keen said. "Tomorrow you're going to see two teams that survived a tough, tough test."
Even though he watched Pat Murphy appropriately lead his boys club to a title last year over St. Patty's Day weekend, Keen's not concerned with the extra-curriculars.
After all, he's got a good luck charm of his own.
"My wife's Irish, so we'll take care of the Irish tomorrow," Keen said.
Enter the Freedom Irish, disruptors of Grafton's back-to-back championships plan. Not to mention that one might say that this, the preamble to St. Patrick's Day, is the upstart club's weekend.
Whereas the Railroaders came up a few meters of track short of catching the Cheesemakers on Friday afternoon, the Irish overcame a 16-9 deficit after one quarter and ultimately derailed the Black Hawks' quest for a second straight golden ball.
Freedom forced two of Grafton's first-team All-North Shore Conference athletes to foul out. They gritted, they grinded and even survived overtime and advanced, 65-61, after Grafton's Nicole Brandenburg forced overtime with a 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation.
Life got a lot easier for Irish 6-footers Stacie Van Handel and Trisha Zwiers, first-team selections in the Eastern Valley Conference this season, when Grafton junior Sarah Eichler fouled out with more than half the fourth quarter left.
Van Handel and Zwiers scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, while red-headed, pesky guard Kristin Verhagen added 13 and hit two 3s.
When Grafton's Miami (Ohio)-bound senior Rachael Hencke fouled out with 27 points in overtime, it was all over but the crying for the Black Hawks.
The Irish eyes, on the other hand, were smiling as the club improves to 1-0 in its school's state tournament history.
"Not a bad way to get your first one, huh?" Freedom coach Mike Vander Loop said.
Today, the Irish face a club that's made a happy home in postseason play. Like Grafton, Monroe is participating in its sixth state tournament and is just two years removed from its 2006 title.
The Lady Cheesemakers are one of very few Division 2 teams that can counter Freedom's combination of both height and the ability to run the floor with its bigs. Jamie Armstrong, a 6-1 post, is a threat to shoot from anywhere on the floor and even finds herself bringing the ball up off rebounds if her outlets are covered. Ashley Hermanson has deceptive agility for someone who can bully her defenders inside with the best of them.
Friday, the Irish sat back in a zone that stymied the Black Hawks' attempts to work the ball inside. Today, don't be surprised if they cover a bit more floor after Altoona's full-court pressure gave Monroe fits.
"I don't think anyone could put as much pressure on us as Altoona did," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. "After Freedom saw what pressure did to us today, I would be surprised if they didn't press us."
Look for Monroe's captains, junior Emily Rufenacht and senior Calyn Bidlingmaier, to set the tone the same way they did Friday. Rufenacht offered a lesson in resilience by plowing through a shooting slump weeks back, but now that feels like years ago - that is if she remembers it at all.
"I'm a shooter, so I just forget about everything and have a short-term memory," Rufenacht said.
Rufenacht's propensity for rapid-fire scoring is the tangible difference-maker, but sometimes a little vocal leading goes a long way.
"We like to yell," Bidlingmaier said. "It's not mean or hurtful yelling, moreso just to get them pumped up. That's what we do."
The duo complements the rest of their club, an easy-going group, quite well.
Keen's just happy they all have a bit of Rufenacht's short-term memory.
"These kids are young and resilient, unlike their coach," Keen said. "Tomorrow you're going to see two teams that survived a tough, tough test."
Even though he watched Pat Murphy appropriately lead his boys club to a title last year over St. Patty's Day weekend, Keen's not concerned with the extra-curriculars.
After all, he's got a good luck charm of his own.
"My wife's Irish, so we'll take care of the Irish tomorrow," Keen said.
