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Armstrong leads Monroe past Brodhead

VERONA — Jamie Armstrong was almost as popular for post-game photos as on the floor Saturday afternoon.

The Monroe High School senior center scored 12 of her team-high 18 points in the second half as the Cheesemakers held off Brodhead, 54-41, for the WIAA Division 2 regional title.

Top-ranked Monroe (23-1), seeking a third straight trip to the state tournament, advances to play Richland Center (22-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Waunakee in the semifinals of the Janesville Craig Sectional.

“I just really wanted this game for us to continue playing another week,” Armstrong said after posing for photos.

Dana Lewis tried to extend Brodhead’s season with 11 of her game-high 22 in the fourth quarter. But the Monroe twin towers of Armstrong and Ashley Hermanson made it tough to score inside.

Brodhead, which opened the season with a 51-41 loss at Monroe, finished 16-9.

“Dana matches up with one of them pretty well,” Brodhead coach Brad Pickett said. “But to throw two out there, it’s difficult to get anything going inside. I thought we did a decent job of getting to the basket, but we didn’t finish when we needed to.”

Monroe controlled the game after jumping out to a 16-4 lead as Brodhead made just one of its first 11 shots.

Lewis stopped the run with a left hook. The 6-2 senior added a three-point play and a rebound put-back to pull the Cardinals within 19-12 with 2:26 left in the first half.

However, Gwen Sutter countered with her third three-pointer of the half to help the Cheesemakers gain a 22-16 halftime lead.

Armstrong, a George Washington University volleyball recruit, opened the second half with four straight points and later added a lay-up to push the Monroe lead to 30-19.

In the fourth quarter, Armstrong dished off to Sutter for a three-point play before adding a lay-up as the Monroe lead grew to 41-23 with 6:09 remaining. The Cheesemakers denied any chance of a Brodhead rally by making 13 of 17 fourth-quarter free throws.

“You could kind of see in Jamie’s eyes in the huddle during the timeouts, she wasn’t going to be denied today,” Monroe coach Kevin Keen said. “She didn’t want her career to end here. So it was nice to see that.”

MONROE 54, BRODHEAD 41

Brodhead (41)—Heller, 1-0-3; Ahrens, 1-0-2; Johnson, 3-1-7; Moens, 1-0-2; Olson, 0-1-1; Douglas, 2-0-4; Lewis, 8-5-22. Totals: 16-7-41.

Monroe (54)—Brice, 1-3-5; Sutter, 5-3-16; Ritschard, 0-1-1; Sellnow, 0-1-1; Hermanson, 1-3-5; Armstrong, 5-7-18; Zitter, 3-2-8. Totals: 15-20-54.

Brodhead 4 12 5 20—41

Monroe 10 12 12 20—54

Three-point goals—Brodhead 2 (Heller, Lewis), Monroe 4 (Sutter 3, Armstrong). Free throws missed—Brodhead 5, Monroe 5. Total fouls—Brodhead 16, Monroe 13. Fouled out—Olson.

n Richland Center 51, Sauk Prairie 49—The Hornets rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit against the Badger North co-champions to earn the Division 2 regional title win.

Richland Center (22-2) plays Monroe (23-1) in a sectional semifinal game at Waunakee on Friday night as part of the Janesville Craig Sectional.

Kelsey Budd of Sauk Prairie (20-5) led all scorers with 28 points.

RICHLAND CENTER 51, SAUK PRAIRIE 49

Sauk Prairie (49)—Puls, 5; Hahn, 4; Budd, 28; Thrune, 12. Totals: 17-14-49.

Richland Center (51)—E. Anderson, 3; Lynch, 5; Beranek, 2; Collins, 17; Krajco, 16; Wilson, 10. Totals: 18-10-51.

Sauk Prairie 8 16 8 17—49

Richland Center 8 8 15 20—51

Three-point goals—Sauk Prairie 1 (Thrune), Richland Center 5 (Wilson 2, Collins 2, Lynch). Free throws missed—Sauk Prairie 18, Richland Center 22.