3:01
Ashley Hermsanson fouled out. I swear she only had four fouls, but I guess I was wrong.
51-45 Grafton with 14.7 left and freshman Hannah Eichler at the line.
Coach Maronda has seperated her from the huddle during the timeout, trying to give her motivation.
Monroe's subs are in. Seniors Missy Ubert and Sommer Bertalot are in for their final second of play.
The freshman hits both, 53-45. A turnover by Monroe with 3.1 will let Grafton's reserves into the game.
Emily Rufenacht can't bare to show her face. Her career at Monroe is stories, with three state appearances and two titles.
Congrats to the Lady Cheesemakers on a great game, and good luck to Grafton in the title game. With the best player in the state, its only fitting to advance after a great game like this.
2:57
Armstrong gets a putback to fall with 32.8 left, Keen calls a timeout, his team's third timeout. They still have two left, but they will need Grafton to start missing free throws. Something the Blackhawks don't usually do. So far this game Grafton has been on fire from the line, and on the season they shoot nearly 70 percent.
2:55
Monroe can't get a pair of shots to drop, and Armstrong gets called for the foul with 51.1 left.
Designated foulers are in.
49.7
Wellnitz at the line, with starters back in.
Bonus shot No. 1 falls, 48-43. Bonus shot 2 falls, 49-43.
2:52
Sutter missed a jumper, but Grafton is called for a foul at our end. Monroe needs to get the ball down court and hit a shot.
2:52
Eichler missed two more contested bunnies. Hermanson gets called for a foul against Tyler on the put back. Tyler hits the first and the second. 47-43 with 1:44 left.
2:50
Kylee Ritschard knocks Eichler to the ground on a shot. Eichler hits the first and the second. If anything, she fell hard.
Sutter then juked her defender to the ground and Sellnow buries a 3 with 2:49 left, 45-43 Grafton.
2:48
Hermanson hits a shot in the paint to bring it to 43-40. TV timeout at 3:20 brought us to a break.
2:45
I haven't heard this many profanities since I was in college. These Grafton parents are furious, screaming for carry calls against Sutter.
Now that the ball is back on our end of the court, the refs are here too, and that means for some reason they scream any louder.
Now, from experience as a fan, I've learned that officials may tend to let coaches make decisions for them once in a blue moon, but never someone in the stands. Gripe or no gripe, this is the unsportsmanlike conduct of high school basketball, not "Airball" or other chants like that coming from the student section.
Of all people, parents should no better.
Under 4 minutes left, Monroe still trails by five.
And what do you know, another travel against Eichler. Not her fault, but the parents are relentless.
2:41
Eichler gets a hoop, Monroe turns it over against the press, Eichler scores again, Monroe turns it over again - all in about 20 seconds.
Timeout Monroe, 5:24 remaining, 43-38 Grafton.
2:39
Hermanson hits a shot in the paint. She's been quiet all day, being guarded closely by Grafton's best.
However, Monroe's best cannot stop Grafton. Not only is Eichler hitting shots, Mary Kalies hit a 3.
Armstrong counted with a 3, and now the Cheese get a steal.
Sutter falls down dribbling but keeps the ball bouncing and Hermanson recovers a rebound and gets fouled on the putback by Kalies.
Count one. Count two.
This game is getting fun.
39-38 Grafton.
2:37
End of the third quarter, Grafton leads 36-31. Still a tight game, but this is go-time for the Cheesemakers.
Last night the boys rallied after being down by five to Wisconsin Dells. Let's see if the girls can do the same.
2:35
Tyler picked up her third foul, trying to block Sutter in the paint. Luckily for Grafton it wasn't on Eichler, who was hovering over Sutter as well.
34-31 with under 1:15 left to play, Grafton still ahead.
Check that, 36-31, Eichler just drove from the wing to the hoop and Monroe took a timeout with :50.1 seconds left in the third.
2:30
Eichler hits a 3 with 3:14 left, and Monroe turns the ball over seconds later.
Eichler is the best girls player I've seen this year. Her and Ali Wilkenson are up there next to each other.
TV Timeout, 2:48 remaining, Monroe basketball.
Fun Fact: Both teams still have all five timeouts remaining.
2:26
Armstrong shooting two after a foul by Mryanda Tyler. However, Monroe's free throw struggling continues as Armstrong misses both.
Eichler is also getting frustrated. After the debatable traveling call, she was called for a double dribble a possession later when breaking the press. It looked more like a carry than a double dribble, but it was a turnover.
Grafton just picked up another foul, this one again by Tyler.
It doesn't matter, as Eichler hit a shot. Sutter counters at the Monroe end to bring the score back to two points at 31-29.
2:24
Eichler gets fouled by Armstrong, goes 1-and-1 at the line, gets her own rebound, then, after a few passes, puts on a nifty move in the paint between Armstrong and Hermanson. 29-24. Luckily for Monroe, another Eichler basket was negated by a traveling call.
Rufenacht makes Grafton pay with a 3.
Personally, the key to this game is the foul-trouble for Eichler. If she picks up her fourth before the end of the third quarter, then Monroe has the game to lose. If not, the game can swing either way.
2:09
Abbey Benzschawel scores for Grafton, and but Rufenacht counters. The Ruf is sizzling already, she has seven points.
Sutter called for a foul with :13.5 seconds left, but Myranda Tyler misses the front end of two free-bies.
Hannah Eichler then comes up about a foot short of swishing a half-courter at the buzzer.
26-24 Grafton at halftime.
2:06
Hermanson gets called for her 2nd foul, and Kennison comes back into the game. Coach Kevin Keen and the Cheesemakers are glad to have her back from knee injury.
Wellnitz is called for a foul too. The fans behind me are starting to get annoying. Gwen Sutter knocks down both ends of the double bonus.
The pendulum swings as Hannah Eichler turns the ball over. Under 1:30 left, Monroe trails by one.
2:03
Binsfeld hit another shot in the lane for Grafton, then Wellnitz gets called for a charge.
Grafton is already at 8 fouls.
Monroe committed another turnover, though. Armstrong tried to thread the needle with a heavy-duty steel rope, and the pass got away from Kennison. Kennison was called for a foul while tussling for the loose ball.
Now Kaitlyn Brandenburg gets called for holding onto Gwen Sutter's arm with 2:50 left to play. From my vantage point, that was an extremely bad call. It should have been a jump ball, but good news for Monroe.
2:26 left, 23-20 Grafton.
2:00
Morgan Kennison drills a 3-pointer with 5:46 left in the second. Sellnow then picks up a bump foul on the other end. That is her second. Hannah Eichler, a freshman mind you, nails a 3.
Hermanson goes up for a rebounded on Monroes end, can't move her arm, and then Sarah Eichler gets called for her third foul with 4:58 remaining.
Grafton steals the inbound, and then gets another 3, fouled by a turnover and a deuce to take a 21-20 lead.
Hannah Eichler then picks up back to back fouls. Kennison is shooting free throws with 4:18 left.
The fans behind me are screaming uncontrollably. The same goes for Grafton head coach Bob Maronde.
1:57
Shauna Binsfeld drills a 3-pointer for Grafton, then gets called for reaching in on Armstrong on a shot. The junior forward hits both. It's now 17-13 with six minutes to play.
1:55
Gwen Sutter is on the board, but Hannah Eichler gets on the board for Grafton. Hilary Wellnitz then fouls Ashley Hermanson on a shot. She goes 1-for-2
16-10 Monroe with 7:06 left.
1:50
Armstrong with a hoop down low. After a shaky first two or three minutes, Monroe is really bringing it.
Armstrong just stuffed Eichler on the other end of the court, and Eichler countered by bumping Armstrong to the ground, picking up her second foul of the game. If she gets a third in the first half, that would be huge for Monroe.
Speaking of Eichler, she takes a rebound coast to coast for a score. Morgan Kennison then hits a shot for Monroe with 19 seconds left.
End of the first quarter, Monroe is leading 13-8.
1:46
Turnovers are still a factor for Monroe, but so is Emily Rufenacht. She hit another runner to give Monroe a 9-6 lead. And Jamie Armstrong is dominating the boards right now.
TV Timeout, 1:56 to play, same score. Hermanson just picked up her first foul of the game.
1:44
Monroe gets two offensive rebounds off of airballs and Ashley Hermanson gets on the board. It's now 7-6 Monroe with 3:30 to play.
1:42
Eichler scores again, and Gwen Sutter gets called for a travel seconds later and then Sellnow gets called for a foul.
Then guess what, another Grafton hoop. It's now 6-3 with Sellnow at the line shooting two after getting pummeled by Eichler while driving to the hoop.
Make that 6-5.
1:40
Kyleigh Sellnow called for a travel and Grafton hits a shot.
But leave it to Cheesemaker spark plug Emily Rufenacht to drain a 3.
3-2 Monroe, 6:30 left
1:38 p.m.
Tip off is here.
Jamie Armstrong vs. probable Player of the Year Sarah Eichler.
And the winner is... Monroe!
1:34 p.m.
Well, my computer didn't send through that last message. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
I predict Monroe by 11. I don't like telling the public my predictions, but I felt OK announcing it right now.
So if Monroe loses, blame me. If they win, I would expect all the fans to bow to me at tomorrows game.
1:12 p.m.
We are just about 20 minutes away from tip-off. The fans are piling into the arena. Unfortunately for Mark and I, we are on the Grafton end of the court. The good news here is... um... I will get to hear a lot of complaining from the fans about bad calls and whatever else they feel like complaining about.
The good news here is that my Cousins chocolate chip bar is nearly as delicious as my strawberry-banana smoothie from Maui Waui. I got the souvenir tiki cup. Not that you care what I am eating for lunch, but I just thought I would tell you what you are missing up here in Madison. Come on people, pack it in next time!
Ashley Hermsanson fouled out. I swear she only had four fouls, but I guess I was wrong.
51-45 Grafton with 14.7 left and freshman Hannah Eichler at the line.
Coach Maronda has seperated her from the huddle during the timeout, trying to give her motivation.
Monroe's subs are in. Seniors Missy Ubert and Sommer Bertalot are in for their final second of play.
The freshman hits both, 53-45. A turnover by Monroe with 3.1 will let Grafton's reserves into the game.
Emily Rufenacht can't bare to show her face. Her career at Monroe is stories, with three state appearances and two titles.
Congrats to the Lady Cheesemakers on a great game, and good luck to Grafton in the title game. With the best player in the state, its only fitting to advance after a great game like this.
2:57
Armstrong gets a putback to fall with 32.8 left, Keen calls a timeout, his team's third timeout. They still have two left, but they will need Grafton to start missing free throws. Something the Blackhawks don't usually do. So far this game Grafton has been on fire from the line, and on the season they shoot nearly 70 percent.
2:55
Monroe can't get a pair of shots to drop, and Armstrong gets called for the foul with 51.1 left.
Designated foulers are in.
49.7
Wellnitz at the line, with starters back in.
Bonus shot No. 1 falls, 48-43. Bonus shot 2 falls, 49-43.
2:52
Sutter missed a jumper, but Grafton is called for a foul at our end. Monroe needs to get the ball down court and hit a shot.
2:52
Eichler missed two more contested bunnies. Hermanson gets called for a foul against Tyler on the put back. Tyler hits the first and the second. 47-43 with 1:44 left.
2:50
Kylee Ritschard knocks Eichler to the ground on a shot. Eichler hits the first and the second. If anything, she fell hard.
Sutter then juked her defender to the ground and Sellnow buries a 3 with 2:49 left, 45-43 Grafton.
2:48
Hermanson hits a shot in the paint to bring it to 43-40. TV timeout at 3:20 brought us to a break.
2:45
I haven't heard this many profanities since I was in college. These Grafton parents are furious, screaming for carry calls against Sutter.
Now that the ball is back on our end of the court, the refs are here too, and that means for some reason they scream any louder.
Now, from experience as a fan, I've learned that officials may tend to let coaches make decisions for them once in a blue moon, but never someone in the stands. Gripe or no gripe, this is the unsportsmanlike conduct of high school basketball, not "Airball" or other chants like that coming from the student section.
Of all people, parents should no better.
Under 4 minutes left, Monroe still trails by five.
And what do you know, another travel against Eichler. Not her fault, but the parents are relentless.
2:41
Eichler gets a hoop, Monroe turns it over against the press, Eichler scores again, Monroe turns it over again - all in about 20 seconds.
Timeout Monroe, 5:24 remaining, 43-38 Grafton.
2:39
Hermanson hits a shot in the paint. She's been quiet all day, being guarded closely by Grafton's best.
However, Monroe's best cannot stop Grafton. Not only is Eichler hitting shots, Mary Kalies hit a 3.
Armstrong counted with a 3, and now the Cheese get a steal.
Sutter falls down dribbling but keeps the ball bouncing and Hermanson recovers a rebound and gets fouled on the putback by Kalies.
Count one. Count two.
This game is getting fun.
39-38 Grafton.
2:37
End of the third quarter, Grafton leads 36-31. Still a tight game, but this is go-time for the Cheesemakers.
Last night the boys rallied after being down by five to Wisconsin Dells. Let's see if the girls can do the same.
2:35
Tyler picked up her third foul, trying to block Sutter in the paint. Luckily for Grafton it wasn't on Eichler, who was hovering over Sutter as well.
34-31 with under 1:15 left to play, Grafton still ahead.
Check that, 36-31, Eichler just drove from the wing to the hoop and Monroe took a timeout with :50.1 seconds left in the third.
2:30
Eichler hits a 3 with 3:14 left, and Monroe turns the ball over seconds later.
Eichler is the best girls player I've seen this year. Her and Ali Wilkenson are up there next to each other.
TV Timeout, 2:48 remaining, Monroe basketball.
Fun Fact: Both teams still have all five timeouts remaining.
2:26
Armstrong shooting two after a foul by Mryanda Tyler. However, Monroe's free throw struggling continues as Armstrong misses both.
Eichler is also getting frustrated. After the debatable traveling call, she was called for a double dribble a possession later when breaking the press. It looked more like a carry than a double dribble, but it was a turnover.
Grafton just picked up another foul, this one again by Tyler.
It doesn't matter, as Eichler hit a shot. Sutter counters at the Monroe end to bring the score back to two points at 31-29.
2:24
Eichler gets fouled by Armstrong, goes 1-and-1 at the line, gets her own rebound, then, after a few passes, puts on a nifty move in the paint between Armstrong and Hermanson. 29-24. Luckily for Monroe, another Eichler basket was negated by a traveling call.
Rufenacht makes Grafton pay with a 3.
Personally, the key to this game is the foul-trouble for Eichler. If she picks up her fourth before the end of the third quarter, then Monroe has the game to lose. If not, the game can swing either way.
2:09
Abbey Benzschawel scores for Grafton, and but Rufenacht counters. The Ruf is sizzling already, she has seven points.
Sutter called for a foul with :13.5 seconds left, but Myranda Tyler misses the front end of two free-bies.
Hannah Eichler then comes up about a foot short of swishing a half-courter at the buzzer.
26-24 Grafton at halftime.
2:06
Hermanson gets called for her 2nd foul, and Kennison comes back into the game. Coach Kevin Keen and the Cheesemakers are glad to have her back from knee injury.
Wellnitz is called for a foul too. The fans behind me are starting to get annoying. Gwen Sutter knocks down both ends of the double bonus.
The pendulum swings as Hannah Eichler turns the ball over. Under 1:30 left, Monroe trails by one.
2:03
Binsfeld hit another shot in the lane for Grafton, then Wellnitz gets called for a charge.
Grafton is already at 8 fouls.
Monroe committed another turnover, though. Armstrong tried to thread the needle with a heavy-duty steel rope, and the pass got away from Kennison. Kennison was called for a foul while tussling for the loose ball.
Now Kaitlyn Brandenburg gets called for holding onto Gwen Sutter's arm with 2:50 left to play. From my vantage point, that was an extremely bad call. It should have been a jump ball, but good news for Monroe.
2:26 left, 23-20 Grafton.
2:00
Morgan Kennison drills a 3-pointer with 5:46 left in the second. Sellnow then picks up a bump foul on the other end. That is her second. Hannah Eichler, a freshman mind you, nails a 3.
Hermanson goes up for a rebounded on Monroes end, can't move her arm, and then Sarah Eichler gets called for her third foul with 4:58 remaining.
Grafton steals the inbound, and then gets another 3, fouled by a turnover and a deuce to take a 21-20 lead.
Hannah Eichler then picks up back to back fouls. Kennison is shooting free throws with 4:18 left.
The fans behind me are screaming uncontrollably. The same goes for Grafton head coach Bob Maronde.
1:57
Shauna Binsfeld drills a 3-pointer for Grafton, then gets called for reaching in on Armstrong on a shot. The junior forward hits both. It's now 17-13 with six minutes to play.
1:55
Gwen Sutter is on the board, but Hannah Eichler gets on the board for Grafton. Hilary Wellnitz then fouls Ashley Hermanson on a shot. She goes 1-for-2
16-10 Monroe with 7:06 left.
1:50
Armstrong with a hoop down low. After a shaky first two or three minutes, Monroe is really bringing it.
Armstrong just stuffed Eichler on the other end of the court, and Eichler countered by bumping Armstrong to the ground, picking up her second foul of the game. If she gets a third in the first half, that would be huge for Monroe.
Speaking of Eichler, she takes a rebound coast to coast for a score. Morgan Kennison then hits a shot for Monroe with 19 seconds left.
End of the first quarter, Monroe is leading 13-8.
1:46
Turnovers are still a factor for Monroe, but so is Emily Rufenacht. She hit another runner to give Monroe a 9-6 lead. And Jamie Armstrong is dominating the boards right now.
TV Timeout, 1:56 to play, same score. Hermanson just picked up her first foul of the game.
1:44
Monroe gets two offensive rebounds off of airballs and Ashley Hermanson gets on the board. It's now 7-6 Monroe with 3:30 to play.
1:42
Eichler scores again, and Gwen Sutter gets called for a travel seconds later and then Sellnow gets called for a foul.
Then guess what, another Grafton hoop. It's now 6-3 with Sellnow at the line shooting two after getting pummeled by Eichler while driving to the hoop.
Make that 6-5.
1:40
Kyleigh Sellnow called for a travel and Grafton hits a shot.
But leave it to Cheesemaker spark plug Emily Rufenacht to drain a 3.
3-2 Monroe, 6:30 left
1:38 p.m.
Tip off is here.
Jamie Armstrong vs. probable Player of the Year Sarah Eichler.
And the winner is... Monroe!
1:34 p.m.
Well, my computer didn't send through that last message. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
I predict Monroe by 11. I don't like telling the public my predictions, but I felt OK announcing it right now.
So if Monroe loses, blame me. If they win, I would expect all the fans to bow to me at tomorrows game.
1:12 p.m.
We are just about 20 minutes away from tip-off. The fans are piling into the arena. Unfortunately for Mark and I, we are on the Grafton end of the court. The good news here is... um... I will get to hear a lot of complaining from the fans about bad calls and whatever else they feel like complaining about.
The good news here is that my Cousins chocolate chip bar is nearly as delicious as my strawberry-banana smoothie from Maui Waui. I got the souvenir tiki cup. Not that you care what I am eating for lunch, but I just thought I would tell you what you are missing up here in Madison. Come on people, pack it in next time!
