The Monmouth College women’s basketball team fell to Augustana College 76-45 on Tuesday night. The Scots (0-2) stayed within single digits for most of the first half but the Vikings steadily pulled away in the second half.
Augustana jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made two free throws. Danielle Beach (Geneseo, Illinois) made Monmouth’s first field goal and Augustana pushed the lead to 11. Jones made a layup to end the first quarter with the Scots trailing 16-7.
Kiersten Cox (Illinois City, Illinois) scored Monmouth’s first four points of the second quarter but Augustana responded with a 6-0 run. Down 24-11, Beach scored on a fast break and then knocked down a 3-pointer for a personal 5-0 run. Olivia Dinges (Amboy, Illinois) cut the lead to six and Cox made it five at 25-20. However, that was the closest score for the rest of the game as the Vikings finished the half on a 9-1 run to lead 34-21.
The guests put 29 points on the board in the third quarter as they pulled away. Jones scored seven of Monmouth’s first nine points in the second half and the Vikings answered to lead 51-30. Beach made a free throw and Cox hit a bucket late in the quarter as the Scots trailed 63-35.
Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) scored early in the fourth and Kynlee Stearns (Gilson, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer to make it 67-40. Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Illinois) hit a pair of free throws and Taj Hanserd (Rockford, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer. Augustana scored the final points of the game with 45 seconds left to win 76-45.
Jones led the Scots with12 points and six rebounds. Cox and Beach both had eight points while Mitchell and Dinges had four each. Beach added four rebounds and Stearns led the Scots with two assists.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Of the 14 players that saw action on Tuesday, eight scored. Monmouth was 16-for-19 at the free throw line. The Scots had 10 steals and two blocked shots. Monmouth had 18 points off the bench. The Scots head to Greenville this weekend for a pair of games against SLIAC teams. They play Greenville at 8 p.m. Friday and Westminster at 3 p.m. Saturday.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
