“That was great. I loved it,” Hofacker said. “I was just looking at the girl taking the ball out of bounds. I just saw it, and I took it. It was super exciting.”
The Hornets had rallied from a 29-19 deficit in the fourth quarter to reach that final play, with Karley Gescuk in-bounding the ball close to the Monroe bench.
Bellbrook, the defending Southwestern champion, swept the regular-season series with the Hornets and extended its Southwestern winning streak to 20.
PHOTOS: Nick Graham's gallery from the game
The Golden Eagles are 13-3 overall and 8-0 in the SWBL. The Hornets fell to 14-3, 8-2.
“The last time we came out flat, but we were ready tonight,” said Monroe junior Jahsalyn Robinson, who scored seven of her nine points in the fourth period. “We had all of our supporters behind us and our heads were in the game. We wanted it really bad.
“When we go to the tournament, we’re going to give it all we have. Maybe we can get some kind of title in the tournament that we haven’t had.”
Katie Sloneker tallied nine points and five boards for the Hornets, and Sophie Sloneker scored seven points. Monroe committed 18 turnovers, but that’s 10 less than the Hornets racked up in their 41-27 loss at Bellbrook on Dec. 17.
“It’ll sound crazy, but 18 turnovers against them is actually not too bad,” Monroe coach Chad Allen said. “We did have too many empty possessions, but our halfcourt defense is pretty solid. That’s a team averaging almost 60 points a game, and we held them to 35.
“The whole year, our girls have been getting better each game. Every time we experience something, we’re not making that same mistake again, so that’s really good.”
Bekah Vine (nine) and Hofacker (seven) topped the scoring for the Golden Eagles. Cassidy Bereda marked six points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Hofacker added five boards, three steals and three assists. Kayla Paul chipped in five points and five assists.
“It seemed like when we needed to protect the ball or make a play, they took advantage a little bit and got themselves back into it just by playing hard,” Bellbrook coach Jason Tincher said. “But I’ve got to give my kids credit. When the going got tough and we faced a little adversity, we did what we needed to do.”
The Hornets’ gym was rocking all night. A big crowd showed up, and so did Monroe’s pep band.
“We expected them to come out really hard,” Hofacker said. “They had a huge crowd too, which helped them a lot. We had to go right at them just like they were coming at us.”
Tincher’s squad has been pounding SWBL opponents all season, so he was glad to face a major test.
“Not every game can we put our kids in this environment,” Tincher said. “I like the fact that we were able to have our girls play in that atmosphere fighting for a league title. I give Monroe credit. When we played them early in the year, I knew they were a good basketball team, but they seem like they’re playing better together. I thought they played their butts off.
“To have two teams that put themselves where we have at the end of the season and to have Monroe come out with all that energy and the crowd and the band, it was an unbelievable game for our league in general. I think Monroe will benefit from it, and I think we can too.”
The Hornets held a 9-4 advantage early in the second quarter. Bellbrook moved ahead for good (14-12) on a Vine 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining in that period.
Maddy Wehry led Monroe on the glass with six rebounds.
“They had some dribble penetration, and we had some bad rotation on the back side where they got some easy baskets,” Allen said. “If we could’ve gotten that stopped early, maybe it would’ve been a different outcome.
“But our girls left it all on the floor, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. I can’t say enough about the school, the community coming out and the girls. I’m really proud of them. Hopefully people will see that and know that Monroe’s not that old Monroe that used to be here a few years ago. Hopefully other teams see that at the tournament draw.”
The Hornets, who have just one senior (Gescuk) on their roster, have already clinched their first winning season since 2006-07. Monroe tied for fifth place in the seven-team Southwestern Division last year.
“I think the turnaround’s coming a little quicker than we thought it would, and it’s just a credit to how hard these girls work,” Allen said. “They practice hard, and they’re involved in the youth program. They put so much time into this program. Right now, you can really see the whole thing developing. It’s kind of exciting.
“We’re going to have our heads held up tonight. Bellbrook’s a really good team. If we happen to meet them again in the (Division II) tournament, we both know we’re bringing it.”
The Golden Eagles’ three losses have come against Waterford, Carroll and Beavercreek.
“We want to try to get to state this year because last year we lost in the district finals,” Hofacker said. “We want to get past that this year.”
Bellbrook will host Oakwood on Saturday afternoon. The Hornets travel to Springfield on Monday night.
Bellbrook 4-14-8-9—35
Monroe 7-7-5-13—32
BELLBROOK (13-3, 8-0 SWBL Southwestern): Brooklynn Hall 1 1 3, Cassidy Bereda 3 0 6, Cassidy Hofacker 3 0 7, Bekah Vine 3 2 9, Kayla Paul 2 1 5, Stephanie Dorn 2 0 5. Totals: 14-4-35
MONROE (14-3, 8-2 SWBL Southwestern): Kylee Slone 2 0 4, Sophie Sloneker 2 2 7, Karley Gescuk 0 1 1, Jahsalyn Robinson 4 1 9, Maddy Wehry 1 0 2, Katie Sloneker 4 0 9. Totals: 13-4-32
3-pointers: B 3 (Hofacker, Vine, Dorn), M 2 (S. Sloneker, K. Sloneker)
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