MONROE - Unfortunately for the Lady Cheesemakers Friday night, they ran into Waunakee's female equivalent of Mitch Tordoff.
Junior Warriors post Emily Decorah found an early rhythm behind the arc and splashed four 3-pointers to help give Waunakee a double-digit lead and keep Monroe at bay in a 55-38 non-conference Badger Conference crossover victory, snapping the Cheesemakers' seven-game winning streak.
The night didn't start off on the right foot for the 5-11 Decorah as she couldn't make a shot during the 20-minute warmup session. Those memories were quickly erased when she buried her first triple from the left wing to tie the game at 3-3 after Monroe's Emily Rufenacht started with a 3 of her own.
"I forget everything that happens in warmups and start over," Decorah said. "I'm in the game and it's a different experience."
After another Cheesemakers (12-3 overall) bomb from downtown courtesy of Gwen Sutter - who hit three from beyond the arc and finished with 11 points - gave Monroe the lead at 6-3, the Warriors (13-2 overall) went on a 7-0 run to close the first quarter.
Ashley Hermanson knotted the game back up with four quick points to open the second quarter. Sutter kept her head up as she raced the ball downcourt and rifled a pass from the just past midcourt to the left block for Hermanson to lay it in with ease. Hermanson dug in her heels on the offensive glass to tie the game at 10-apiece when she corralled a Cheesemakers miss and went back up strong for two.
The teams traded baskets and were tied 14-14 at just under four minutes to go when Decorah ignited a 15-5 Waunakee run that closed out the second half with 3-pointer from the left wing. She ended the run from the top of the key - and gave the Warriors a 29-19 halftime advantage - with her fourth and final deep-ball with eight ticks remaining.
Waunakee head coach Larry Hale laid a majority of the offense at Decorah's feet and has been appreciating the results.
"The last four or five games she's been playing terrifically," Hale said. "We've adjusted our offense a little bit and kind of went to her and basically said 'you need to be a scorer for us.'"
Cheesemakers head coach Kevin Keen went to a zone defense throughout the game, breaking from the customary tight man-to-man pressure defense, but Decorah found the open spots.
"We gave her open looks," Keen said. "We talked about (it) and can't be passive. If we're going to play zone, we got to be aggressive and make sure we cover shooters."
Sutter and Hermanson shared the Cheesemakers' high-water mark for points with 11 and Keen hopes that when Monroe takes on McFarland Thursday at home, the guards will look to find Hermanson on the blocks a little more.
"Ashley really worked hard. I thought she was one of our really aggressive people in there on the offensive end," Keen said. "We didn't take advantage of our other opportunities. When we look at the tape hopefully our perimeters will see that there were chances to get the ball inside."
Junior Warriors post Emily Decorah found an early rhythm behind the arc and splashed four 3-pointers to help give Waunakee a double-digit lead and keep Monroe at bay in a 55-38 non-conference Badger Conference crossover victory, snapping the Cheesemakers' seven-game winning streak.
The night didn't start off on the right foot for the 5-11 Decorah as she couldn't make a shot during the 20-minute warmup session. Those memories were quickly erased when she buried her first triple from the left wing to tie the game at 3-3 after Monroe's Emily Rufenacht started with a 3 of her own.
"I forget everything that happens in warmups and start over," Decorah said. "I'm in the game and it's a different experience."
After another Cheesemakers (12-3 overall) bomb from downtown courtesy of Gwen Sutter - who hit three from beyond the arc and finished with 11 points - gave Monroe the lead at 6-3, the Warriors (13-2 overall) went on a 7-0 run to close the first quarter.
Ashley Hermanson knotted the game back up with four quick points to open the second quarter. Sutter kept her head up as she raced the ball downcourt and rifled a pass from the just past midcourt to the left block for Hermanson to lay it in with ease. Hermanson dug in her heels on the offensive glass to tie the game at 10-apiece when she corralled a Cheesemakers miss and went back up strong for two.
The teams traded baskets and were tied 14-14 at just under four minutes to go when Decorah ignited a 15-5 Waunakee run that closed out the second half with 3-pointer from the left wing. She ended the run from the top of the key - and gave the Warriors a 29-19 halftime advantage - with her fourth and final deep-ball with eight ticks remaining.
Waunakee head coach Larry Hale laid a majority of the offense at Decorah's feet and has been appreciating the results.
"The last four or five games she's been playing terrifically," Hale said. "We've adjusted our offense a little bit and kind of went to her and basically said 'you need to be a scorer for us.'"
Cheesemakers head coach Kevin Keen went to a zone defense throughout the game, breaking from the customary tight man-to-man pressure defense, but Decorah found the open spots.
"We gave her open looks," Keen said. "We talked about (it) and can't be passive. If we're going to play zone, we got to be aggressive and make sure we cover shooters."
Sutter and Hermanson shared the Cheesemakers' high-water mark for points with 11 and Keen hopes that when Monroe takes on McFarland Thursday at home, the guards will look to find Hermanson on the blocks a little more.
"Ashley really worked hard. I thought she was one of our really aggressive people in there on the offensive end," Keen said. "We didn't take advantage of our other opportunities. When we look at the tape hopefully our perimeters will see that there were chances to get the ball inside."
