MONROE - Heather Barta is well aware the clock is ticking on her time as a guard for the Monroe girls basketball team.
That's why it was hard on the senior when she fouled out with about 5 minutes left in a game against Stoughton Thursday night. Barta scored a team-high 14 points and the Cheesemakers were on the brink of beating Stoughton, before falling to the Vikings 49-42 on Valentine's Day.
"Today, I just went out there and played basketball because I don't have many games left," Barta said. "It was frustrating that was my fifth foul and there were five minutes to go. I went to the bench, cheered and tried to stay positive the best I could. I knew they could do it."
Monroe (1-19, 0-11 Badger South) got a spark early in the fourth quarter from seniors Briana Katzenberger and Jessica Bell. Katzenberger scored on a layup, and Bell drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a short-lived 39-38 lead with 5:38 left in the game. After Barta fouled out, the Cheesemakers battled back and were within two points with 1:57 to go. However, the Cheesemakers committed five turnovers in the final 1:30, and the Vikings made 5 of 6 free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.
"We were knocking on the door. We just couldn't open it tonight," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. Tonight, I was just really proud of their effort. We battled back. We had a hard time converting there. There is a fine line between taking the shot and making the shot."
Barta had the confidence in taking and making shots in the first half. Barta scored 13 of her 14 points in the first half, on 6 of 10 shooting. The Cheesemakers shot 47.8 percent (11 of 23) as a team in the first half and were tied at 25 going into the locker room.
"Heather did a good job of hunting down shots," Mathiason said. "With the zone, it's hard to find where that soft spot is going to be. I thought she did a good job of working to see where that soft spot was going to be. I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and getting some good touches inside."
The Vikings went on a 12-3 run to start the third quarter. Stoughton had three layups off of Cheesemakers' turnovers including two layups by junior Payton Gross to help the Vikings take a 33-27 lead. Stoughton senior Tessa Mersberger, who scored a game-high 17 points, scored on a putback late in the third quarter to give the Vikings a 37-28 lead.
"We wanted to come out like it was 0-0 after it was tied at half," Barta said.
Mathiason said the Vikings did a good job on the defensive end and the Cheesemakers made some poor reads.
The Cheesemakers closed the third quarter with a bang. Monroe junior Chandra McGuire scored on a layup off a pinpoint pass from Ellie Grossen, and Kirsten Vetterli made two free throws to slice the Vikings' lead to 37-32. Vetterli scored eight points and Bell added six.
The Cheesemakers lost to the Vikings 52-36 the first time they played, and Mathiason said both were battles.
"Most of our games have been competitive," he said. "It just comes down to a couple of possessions. Tonight, it was a couple of possessions in the fourth quarter. We just have to continue to find that consistency on both ends of the floor, get defensive stops and find a way to make some conversions on offense."
Monroe will play at No. 2-ranked Brodhead at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
"It will be tough," Mathiason said. "They are very good. They are really deep. It will be a great challenge for us."
That's why it was hard on the senior when she fouled out with about 5 minutes left in a game against Stoughton Thursday night. Barta scored a team-high 14 points and the Cheesemakers were on the brink of beating Stoughton, before falling to the Vikings 49-42 on Valentine's Day.
"Today, I just went out there and played basketball because I don't have many games left," Barta said. "It was frustrating that was my fifth foul and there were five minutes to go. I went to the bench, cheered and tried to stay positive the best I could. I knew they could do it."
Monroe (1-19, 0-11 Badger South) got a spark early in the fourth quarter from seniors Briana Katzenberger and Jessica Bell. Katzenberger scored on a layup, and Bell drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cheesemakers a short-lived 39-38 lead with 5:38 left in the game. After Barta fouled out, the Cheesemakers battled back and were within two points with 1:57 to go. However, the Cheesemakers committed five turnovers in the final 1:30, and the Vikings made 5 of 6 free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.
"We were knocking on the door. We just couldn't open it tonight," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. Tonight, I was just really proud of their effort. We battled back. We had a hard time converting there. There is a fine line between taking the shot and making the shot."
Barta had the confidence in taking and making shots in the first half. Barta scored 13 of her 14 points in the first half, on 6 of 10 shooting. The Cheesemakers shot 47.8 percent (11 of 23) as a team in the first half and were tied at 25 going into the locker room.
"Heather did a good job of hunting down shots," Mathiason said. "With the zone, it's hard to find where that soft spot is going to be. I thought she did a good job of working to see where that soft spot was going to be. I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and getting some good touches inside."
The Vikings went on a 12-3 run to start the third quarter. Stoughton had three layups off of Cheesemakers' turnovers including two layups by junior Payton Gross to help the Vikings take a 33-27 lead. Stoughton senior Tessa Mersberger, who scored a game-high 17 points, scored on a putback late in the third quarter to give the Vikings a 37-28 lead.
"We wanted to come out like it was 0-0 after it was tied at half," Barta said.
Mathiason said the Vikings did a good job on the defensive end and the Cheesemakers made some poor reads.
The Cheesemakers closed the third quarter with a bang. Monroe junior Chandra McGuire scored on a layup off a pinpoint pass from Ellie Grossen, and Kirsten Vetterli made two free throws to slice the Vikings' lead to 37-32. Vetterli scored eight points and Bell added six.
The Cheesemakers lost to the Vikings 52-36 the first time they played, and Mathiason said both were battles.
"Most of our games have been competitive," he said. "It just comes down to a couple of possessions. Tonight, it was a couple of possessions in the fourth quarter. We just have to continue to find that consistency on both ends of the floor, get defensive stops and find a way to make some conversions on offense."
Monroe will play at No. 2-ranked Brodhead at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
"It will be tough," Mathiason said. "They are very good. They are really deep. It will be a great challenge for us."
