MONROE - For many stretches during the Monroe girls basketball team's 62-51 loss to Waunakee Friday night, it looked like the Cheesemakers would rally to knock off the Warriors.
Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 22 points, and sophomore Sydney Mathiason scored 11 points and had eight rebounds.
The Warriors got a big 3-pointer from sophomore Cody Nechvatal and closed the game with a 6-0 spurt to hang on for a win over the Cheesemakers.
The Warriors switched to a zone in the second half, and the Cheesemakers shot 30.7 percent (8-for-26). The Cheesemakers finished the game shooting 31.3 percent (16 of 51).
"In the first half, we played really good and we were up," Hilliard said. "In the second half, we were flat and not finishing. It's not anyone's fault. The shots were just not falling."
Waunakee junior Morgan Rice scored a team-high 13 points and drilled four of the Warriors' nine
3-pointers. Waunakee senior Jada Dayne, who is a Division I commit to play soccer at the University of Michigan, had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Monroe (4-7, 2-3 Badger South) played a 2-3 zone, and the Warriors had a big rebounding edge early on as they grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first half. However, Monroe closed the gap, and Waunakee outrebounded the Cheesemakers 31-26. The big difference came from the outside where the Warriors hit nine 3-pointers.
"I think with the matchups, the zone gave us the best chance," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "I think it was better for us in zone. It may have given them too many second-chance opportunities. We are still in the learning process with the zone. In that zone you are not really boxing out a person, it's more of an area. Give Waunakee credit. They just hit a few more shots."
Waunakee (8-4, 3-2 Badger North) led by as many as nine points in the first half after Rice knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 30-21 lead with 4 minutes, 35 seconds to go in the first half. The Cheesemakers went on a 12-0 run to close the first half. Mathiason hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 to go to slice the Warriors' lead to 30-26. Hilliard did a good job of penetrating and drawing fouls in the first half with the Cheesemakers in the bonus. Hilliard made 10 of 10 free throws in a 14-point first half to help the Cheesemakers take the lead. She scored on a layup right before the buzzer to give the Cheesemakers a 33-30 lead at the half.
"It's a very big step," Hilliard said of coming back from a nine-point first half deficit to take the lead on the Warriors at the half. "I know we can do it. We just have to show ourselves that we can do it."
Sam Mathiason said he discussed the need to grab rebounds at halftime. Five of Sydney Mathiason's eight rebounds were on offense and gave the Cheesemakers second-chance scoring opportunities.
"She did a good job on the offensive end of keeping some balls alive," Sam Mathiason said. "You just have to keep going after the rebounds and keep fighting."
When the Warriors took an eight-point lead in the second half, the Cheesemakers rallied again. Hilliard scored on a layup and was fouled. She converted the three-point play by hitting the free throw to slice the Warriors' lead to 48-45 with 7:13 left. It also marked Dayne's fourth foul. The Warriors came back to answer with Nechvatal knocking down a clutch 3-pointer to extend the lead to 55-45 with about 4 minutes to go.
Mathiason scored on a layup with 2:05 left to trim the deficit to six points. Monroe junior Jordan Hirsbrunner hit a jumper to cut the Warriors' lead to 56-51 with 2:05 to go, but that was as close as the Cheesemakers got.
Monroe senior Hannah Vetterli scored six points. Waunakee sophomore CiCi Rindy added nine points and had eight rebounds.
Monroe will play a Snack Bowl game at Freeport at 5:30 p.m. today. The Cheesemakers are looking to beat the Pretzels for the second straight year.
"I think we have improved a lot since the beginning of the season," Sam Mathiason said. "I think as the season goes on we continue to improve. I think as the season goes on into January and February, we will continue to improve and keep working to get better."
Monroe freshman Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 22 points, and sophomore Sydney Mathiason scored 11 points and had eight rebounds.
The Warriors got a big 3-pointer from sophomore Cody Nechvatal and closed the game with a 6-0 spurt to hang on for a win over the Cheesemakers.
The Warriors switched to a zone in the second half, and the Cheesemakers shot 30.7 percent (8-for-26). The Cheesemakers finished the game shooting 31.3 percent (16 of 51).
"In the first half, we played really good and we were up," Hilliard said. "In the second half, we were flat and not finishing. It's not anyone's fault. The shots were just not falling."
Waunakee junior Morgan Rice scored a team-high 13 points and drilled four of the Warriors' nine
3-pointers. Waunakee senior Jada Dayne, who is a Division I commit to play soccer at the University of Michigan, had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Monroe (4-7, 2-3 Badger South) played a 2-3 zone, and the Warriors had a big rebounding edge early on as they grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first half. However, Monroe closed the gap, and Waunakee outrebounded the Cheesemakers 31-26. The big difference came from the outside where the Warriors hit nine 3-pointers.
"I think with the matchups, the zone gave us the best chance," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "I think it was better for us in zone. It may have given them too many second-chance opportunities. We are still in the learning process with the zone. In that zone you are not really boxing out a person, it's more of an area. Give Waunakee credit. They just hit a few more shots."
Waunakee (8-4, 3-2 Badger North) led by as many as nine points in the first half after Rice knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 30-21 lead with 4 minutes, 35 seconds to go in the first half. The Cheesemakers went on a 12-0 run to close the first half. Mathiason hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 to go to slice the Warriors' lead to 30-26. Hilliard did a good job of penetrating and drawing fouls in the first half with the Cheesemakers in the bonus. Hilliard made 10 of 10 free throws in a 14-point first half to help the Cheesemakers take the lead. She scored on a layup right before the buzzer to give the Cheesemakers a 33-30 lead at the half.
"It's a very big step," Hilliard said of coming back from a nine-point first half deficit to take the lead on the Warriors at the half. "I know we can do it. We just have to show ourselves that we can do it."
Sam Mathiason said he discussed the need to grab rebounds at halftime. Five of Sydney Mathiason's eight rebounds were on offense and gave the Cheesemakers second-chance scoring opportunities.
"She did a good job on the offensive end of keeping some balls alive," Sam Mathiason said. "You just have to keep going after the rebounds and keep fighting."
When the Warriors took an eight-point lead in the second half, the Cheesemakers rallied again. Hilliard scored on a layup and was fouled. She converted the three-point play by hitting the free throw to slice the Warriors' lead to 48-45 with 7:13 left. It also marked Dayne's fourth foul. The Warriors came back to answer with Nechvatal knocking down a clutch 3-pointer to extend the lead to 55-45 with about 4 minutes to go.
Mathiason scored on a layup with 2:05 left to trim the deficit to six points. Monroe junior Jordan Hirsbrunner hit a jumper to cut the Warriors' lead to 56-51 with 2:05 to go, but that was as close as the Cheesemakers got.
Monroe senior Hannah Vetterli scored six points. Waunakee sophomore CiCi Rindy added nine points and had eight rebounds.
Monroe will play a Snack Bowl game at Freeport at 5:30 p.m. today. The Cheesemakers are looking to beat the Pretzels for the second straight year.
"I think we have improved a lot since the beginning of the season," Sam Mathiason said. "I think as the season goes on we continue to improve. I think as the season goes on into January and February, we will continue to improve and keep working to get better."
