The Monmouth College women’s basketball team got 30 points from Josie Morgan (Washington, Illinois) but suffered their first conference loss of the season with an 84-75 setback to Lake Forest on Wednesday. The loss ends a school-record 14-game home winning streak and drops the Scots to 8-4 overall, 5-1 in the MWC.
The Scots and Foresters went back and forth in the first quarter with neither team getting a lead of more than four points. Morgan, Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) and Zoie Wall (Peoria, Illinois) all hit 3-pointers in the first quarter for the Scots. Kaitlyn Osmulski (Peoria, Illinois) made a running layup for the Scots first non 3-pointer of the night as Monmouth trailed 12-11 after one.
Morgan knocked down another 3-pointer early in the second quarter for a 16-14 Monmouth lead. After a pair of free throws from Lily Harlan (Washington, Illinois), Morgan nailed another 3-pointer for a 21-16 Scots lead and then banked in a 3-pointer from the wing. Warner grabbed her fifth steal of the half and Morgan made two free throws for a 28-20 lead.
Wall made a 3-pointer in the final minute of the half to give Monmouth a 31-22 lead. After Lake Forest scored with 10 seconds left, Wall made another 3-pointer to beat the buzzer with the Scots up 34-24 at the break. Morgan hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the half for 14 points and the Scots made 8-of-20 as a team.
Lake Forest cut the Scots lead to five points half way through the third quarter before Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Illinois) made a long jumper for a 43-36 lead. Harlan made a pair of free throws and Mitchell drilled a corner 3-pointer to complete a 7-0 Scots run for a 48-36 lead.
Morgan knocked down a free throw with 1:21 left in the quarter for a 51-41 lead. Wall added a pair of free throws on the next possession and the Scots led 56-46 after three quarters.
Morgan scored the first points of the fourth quarter from the free throw line as she went over the 20 point mark for the third time on the season. Lake Forest hit 3-pointers on two straight possessions to cut the Monmouth lead to 58-52. Osmulski knocked down a 3-pointer to end the run and Monmouth called time out with 8:34 to play.
Lake Forest scored five in a row before Jordan Kintigh (Goshen, Indiana) made a jumper in the lane. Monmouth’s lead was cut to 63-61 before the Foresters tied the game on two free throws with 6:21 to play. Lake Forest grabbed the lead at 65-63 before Harlan made a free throw.
LFC went on a 6-0 run and pushed their lead to seven with 4:00 to play. Morgan made a layup, but the visitors responded with nine straight to lead 80-66 with less than two minutes to play. Morgan completed a 3-point play and then made two free throws to cut the LFC lead to nine.
Morgan hit the 30-point plateau with two free throws with 20.9 seconds left but those marked the final points of the game. Wall finished with 13 points while Osmulski scored 10. Osmulski and Harlan had six rebounds each while Warner had seven steals.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Morgan has made at least two 3-pointers in three straight games and in eight of the last nineShe scored a career-high 30 points, four more than she scored against Beloit in DecemberShe has three of the Scots four 20-point games this seasonThe last time a Scots played scored at least 30 points in a game was Nov. 8, 2019 when Becca Gallis scored 32 against Central College of the BibleIt is the 24th 30+ point game in school historyMorgan made 12 free throws, two shy of the single-game school recordWarner had a career-high seven stealsThe Scots last home loss came in December 2019 to Illinois CollegeLake Forest won the fourth quarter 38-19 and finished the game with 40 points in the paintMonmouth will host Knox College on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the first of two regular-season matchups between the rivals this season.
***Report Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
