The Monmouth College women’s basketball team fell behind early and couldn’t catch up as they dropped the Midwest Conference opener 75-64 to Lake Forest on Tuesday night. The Fighting Scots (2-4, 0-1) return to action on Sunday at home against Beloit
The Foresters jumped out to a 5-2 lead as Averi Rangel (Moline, Illinois) got the Scots on the board with a jumper. Olivia Dinges (Amboy, Illinois) scored in the paint and Kynlee Stearns (Gilson, Illinois) made a free throw as Lake Forest pushed the lead to 14-5. Brooklyn Sellers (Freeport, Illinois) made two free throws and Allie Hoy (Woodland, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer. Hoy picked up a steal for a layup and Delaney Scheidenhelm (New Berlin, Illinois) scored down low to end the quarter at 17-14 Lake Forest.
The Foresters pushed the lead to 23-17 early in the second quarter as Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made a layup and Kiersten Cox (Illinois City, Illinois) hit a free throw. The Foresters took advantage of three Monmouth turnovers to push the lead to 14 at 35-21. Stearns made a free throw to end the run and Dinges added a pair of free throws. Scheidenhelm made a free throw but Monmouth ttrailed 35-25 at the half.
Rangel hit a pair of 3-pointers to start the second half but Lake Forest answered with a 5-0 run to lead 42-31. The Foresters went on a 9-1 run to lead by 19 before Stearns hit a floater in the lane. Cox hit a jumper from the free throw line and Stearns made a pair of free throws. The teams traded points before Hoy hit a 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to cut the LFC lead to 59-46.
Rangel hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter but the Foresters answered to push the lead back to 13. Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) converted a 3-point play after stealing an inbounds pass and Jones scored on a layup to get the deficit into single digits. The Foresters got the lead back to 13 before Jones scored on a putback. Jones answered a LFC bucket with another layup. Down 74-60, Sellers scored four straight points as the clock ticked under 2:00. The Scots had two empty possessions and Lake Forest added free throws for a 75-64 final.
Rangel led the Scots with 11 points while Hoy added 10 off the bench. Jones led Monmouth with eight rebounds while Stearns had three assists. Hoy grabbed three steals and Jones had a blocked shot.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Nine of 10 Monmouth players that played scored and they all had at least five points … The Scots were 19-of-29 at the free throw line … Rangel made three 3-pointers … Hoy was in double figures scoring for the third time in her career, first this season … Lake Forest has won four in a row in the series and leads all-time 43-17 … Monmouth hosts Beloit at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
