MILTON - The Cheesemakers used solid defense and an inside-out offense to roll the Red Hawks 60-50 on Tuesday night.
Monroe's twin towers, Ashley Hermanson and Jamie Armstrong, each scored 16 points and senior guard Emily Rufenacht continued her superb play down the stretch. Rufenacht scored 16 points in the game and hit two big 3-pointers in the third quarter for Monroe (16-2, 9-1 Badger South).
Milton (4-12, 4-7) took the initial lead of the game, taking a 9-6 advantage into the second quarter. Then Monroe's offense kicked into gear. The Cheesemakers outscored Milton 22-9 in the second quarter. Armstrong scored nine points in the frame.
"We had a little bit of a spurt there at the end of the second quarter," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. "We scored seven points in the last minute and a half. We made some free throws and our press forced some turnovers that we converted into points."
In the third, Rufenacht took over, scoring 10 points in the frame including both of her 3s, and the Cheesemakers got up by as many as 15 points in the third.
Milton crawled their way back, but could not bring the score close enough into striking distance.
Madison Edgewood (15-3. 10-1) tipped Oregon (13-5, 6-4), which puts Monroe in a near must-win situation over their final two games in order to half a shot at tying for the conference title. Edgewood has one last conference game (Fort Atkinson, 3-14, 2-8) while Monroe has two more.
The Cheese host Stoughton (2-15, 2-8) this Friday for Senior Night and travel to Monona Grove (4-14, 3-7) on Feb. 19 for the season finale.
"We need to win these next two games to even have a shot at conference, and our girls know that," Keen said.
Monroe's twin towers, Ashley Hermanson and Jamie Armstrong, each scored 16 points and senior guard Emily Rufenacht continued her superb play down the stretch. Rufenacht scored 16 points in the game and hit two big 3-pointers in the third quarter for Monroe (16-2, 9-1 Badger South).
Milton (4-12, 4-7) took the initial lead of the game, taking a 9-6 advantage into the second quarter. Then Monroe's offense kicked into gear. The Cheesemakers outscored Milton 22-9 in the second quarter. Armstrong scored nine points in the frame.
"We had a little bit of a spurt there at the end of the second quarter," Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. "We scored seven points in the last minute and a half. We made some free throws and our press forced some turnovers that we converted into points."
In the third, Rufenacht took over, scoring 10 points in the frame including both of her 3s, and the Cheesemakers got up by as many as 15 points in the third.
Milton crawled their way back, but could not bring the score close enough into striking distance.
Madison Edgewood (15-3. 10-1) tipped Oregon (13-5, 6-4), which puts Monroe in a near must-win situation over their final two games in order to half a shot at tying for the conference title. Edgewood has one last conference game (Fort Atkinson, 3-14, 2-8) while Monroe has two more.
The Cheese host Stoughton (2-15, 2-8) this Friday for Senior Night and travel to Monona Grove (4-14, 3-7) on Feb. 19 for the season finale.
"We need to win these next two games to even have a shot at conference, and our girls know that," Keen said.
