MONROE - Only 24 hours removed from their biggest victory of the season, the Lady Cheesemakers hit the rewind button versus Hwy. 11 rival Brodhead Saturday night.
After defeating Badger South challenger Verona in overtime 44-36 Friday, Monroe used a late first-half spark to down Rock Valley co-leader Brodhead, 51-37, at home.
For the weather makeup game from last Monday, Monroe head coach Kevin Keen and his squad put the scouting reports for the Cardinals (7-4 overall) down and began a four-day crash course on the Wildcats.
"We did prepare for Brodhead last week," Keen said. "We had done some preparation, but not immediate preparation. I'm sure we were tired from last night."
Monroe (12-2 overall) grabbed a 21-19 lead at the end of the first half before sophomore forward Ashley Hermanson scored the first six Cheesemakers' points of the second half, igniting a 12-6 run that went gave Monroe a 33-25 lead after three quarters.
Hermanson staked her claim on the left block for her first bucket. The sophomore snapped the twine with a textbook jumper from the left elbow with six minutes left and capped her personal run with a banker from the right block. Hermanson finished with a game-high 16 points and has really impressed her coach with her aggressiveness.
"Ashley has really started to become more assertive offensively. That's really good to see," Keen said. "It's good to get that second post player involved. (She) and Jaime (Armstrong) are a pretty good tandem in there."
Hermanson has been enjoying the physical aspect of working down low along with Armstrong, who scored 13 points in the victory.
"I feel great," Hermanson said. "It's just fun to hit people and get it in there."
The Cheesemakers' formidable frontcourt was too much to handle for Brodhead, which plays in the Rock Valley Conference. Junior Kristen Ruchti led the Cardinals with 10 points. Head coach Chris Medenwaldt took the loss in stride and will file the game away for tournament time when the matchups will differ nightly.
"It's not too usual for us to have a matchup where our bigs are actually small," Medenwaldt said. "So that was that good for us. It good for us to play against that kind of height, the effort they play with and how smart they are."
Freshman Kyleigh Sellnow had a solid second half by pushing the tempo on fast breaks and getting the ball to her big offensive threats, following a breakout game Friday against Verona. Sellnow finished Saturday's game with eight points and got to the free-throw line 10 times. Hermanson has been impressed with her long-time teammate's growth over her first season that didn't start out with a bang.
"We've played with her many years now," Hermanson said. "She just knows when to get it in there and whenever we're not open she just takes it."
Keen was pleased to get a look at the Cardinals as the two teams might meet up in the WIAA Regionals that start Tuesday, Feb. 26. The Monroe coach has gotten all 11 girls working together and playing team-orientated basketball during the stretch run.
"It's a good team win," Keen said. "It was a good team win last night (Friday). The kids stepped up a made big plays at certain times."
After defeating Badger South challenger Verona in overtime 44-36 Friday, Monroe used a late first-half spark to down Rock Valley co-leader Brodhead, 51-37, at home.
For the weather makeup game from last Monday, Monroe head coach Kevin Keen and his squad put the scouting reports for the Cardinals (7-4 overall) down and began a four-day crash course on the Wildcats.
"We did prepare for Brodhead last week," Keen said. "We had done some preparation, but not immediate preparation. I'm sure we were tired from last night."
Monroe (12-2 overall) grabbed a 21-19 lead at the end of the first half before sophomore forward Ashley Hermanson scored the first six Cheesemakers' points of the second half, igniting a 12-6 run that went gave Monroe a 33-25 lead after three quarters.
Hermanson staked her claim on the left block for her first bucket. The sophomore snapped the twine with a textbook jumper from the left elbow with six minutes left and capped her personal run with a banker from the right block. Hermanson finished with a game-high 16 points and has really impressed her coach with her aggressiveness.
"Ashley has really started to become more assertive offensively. That's really good to see," Keen said. "It's good to get that second post player involved. (She) and Jaime (Armstrong) are a pretty good tandem in there."
Hermanson has been enjoying the physical aspect of working down low along with Armstrong, who scored 13 points in the victory.
"I feel great," Hermanson said. "It's just fun to hit people and get it in there."
The Cheesemakers' formidable frontcourt was too much to handle for Brodhead, which plays in the Rock Valley Conference. Junior Kristen Ruchti led the Cardinals with 10 points. Head coach Chris Medenwaldt took the loss in stride and will file the game away for tournament time when the matchups will differ nightly.
"It's not too usual for us to have a matchup where our bigs are actually small," Medenwaldt said. "So that was that good for us. It good for us to play against that kind of height, the effort they play with and how smart they are."
Freshman Kyleigh Sellnow had a solid second half by pushing the tempo on fast breaks and getting the ball to her big offensive threats, following a breakout game Friday against Verona. Sellnow finished Saturday's game with eight points and got to the free-throw line 10 times. Hermanson has been impressed with her long-time teammate's growth over her first season that didn't start out with a bang.
"We've played with her many years now," Hermanson said. "She just knows when to get it in there and whenever we're not open she just takes it."
Keen was pleased to get a look at the Cardinals as the two teams might meet up in the WIAA Regionals that start Tuesday, Feb. 26. The Monroe coach has gotten all 11 girls working together and playing team-orientated basketball during the stretch run.
"It's a good team win," Keen said. "It was a good team win last night (Friday). The kids stepped up a made big plays at certain times."
