STOUGHTON - Another game against Stoughton, another nail-biter for the Monroe High School girls basketball team.
This time the Vikings came out on top, recording a 52-50 victory and handing the Cheesemakers their first Badger South Conference loss Tuesday. At home on Dec. 15, Monroe edged Stoughton 51-50.
Tuesday's loss snapped a winning streak at nine games for the Cheesemakers (14-2, 9-1).
"The kids were pretty disappointed in the locker room," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "They knew if we got a win, at worse we had a share of the conference championship.
"I told them to use this feeling to drive them down the stretch. We still control our own destiny."
Monroe, ranked fourth in the AP Division 2 state poll, has two conference games left and holds a 11/2-game lead over Stoughton (7-2) and Edgewood (7-2).
Junior Sydney Mathiason scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, to pace Monroe on Tuesday. Sophomore Sydney Hilliard added 13 points.
Mathiason made one of her 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 50-49 lead with 1 minute, 11 seconds to play.
Then Cassidy Bach scored to put the Vikings ahead 51-50.
Monroe had two more shots on two separate possessions but were unable to score again.
"One was from the elbow, the other was a shot from the middle of the lane," Sam Mathiason said. "Both were contested, but we got decent shots."
Stoughton hit a free throw with 2.2 seconds left to cap the scoring.
Marissa Robson led Stoughton with 16 points, and Bach added 13.
Monroe hosts Sauk Prairie on Friday night.
This time the Vikings came out on top, recording a 52-50 victory and handing the Cheesemakers their first Badger South Conference loss Tuesday. At home on Dec. 15, Monroe edged Stoughton 51-50.
Tuesday's loss snapped a winning streak at nine games for the Cheesemakers (14-2, 9-1).
"The kids were pretty disappointed in the locker room," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "They knew if we got a win, at worse we had a share of the conference championship.
"I told them to use this feeling to drive them down the stretch. We still control our own destiny."
Monroe, ranked fourth in the AP Division 2 state poll, has two conference games left and holds a 11/2-game lead over Stoughton (7-2) and Edgewood (7-2).
Junior Sydney Mathiason scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers, to pace Monroe on Tuesday. Sophomore Sydney Hilliard added 13 points.
Mathiason made one of her 3-pointers to give the Cheesemakers a 50-49 lead with 1 minute, 11 seconds to play.
Then Cassidy Bach scored to put the Vikings ahead 51-50.
Monroe had two more shots on two separate possessions but were unable to score again.
"One was from the elbow, the other was a shot from the middle of the lane," Sam Mathiason said. "Both were contested, but we got decent shots."
Stoughton hit a free throw with 2.2 seconds left to cap the scoring.
Marissa Robson led Stoughton with 16 points, and Bach added 13.
Monroe hosts Sauk Prairie on Friday night.
