The Monmouth College women’s basketball team won all four quarters and knocked off Beloit College 71-55 at home on Sunday afternoon. The Fighting Scots (3-4, 1-1) put three players in double figures in their final Midwest Conference game of the calendar year.
Averi Rangel (Moline, Illinois) scored the first points of the game with a jumper and Kynlee Stearns (Gilson, Illinois) made a free throw. Beloit led 8-5 when Olivia Dinges (Amboy, Illinois) scored in the paint. Allie Hoy (Woodland, Illinois) put the Scots on top 9-8 and Rangel hit a 3-pointer. Kiersten Cox (Illinois City, Illinois) made a free-throw line jumper and Hoy hit a 3-pointer for a 17-10 lead. Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made a free throw and Cox hit another jumper for a 20-13 lead. Beloit finished the quarter with a bucket for a 20-15 game.
Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) scored Monmouth’s first field goal of the second quarter and Jones scored the next three points. The Scots led 26-15 before Beloit scored their first points of the quarter and Madison Finch (Aledo, Illinois) made a layup. Brooklyn Sellers (Freeport, Illinois) scored four points in a row for a 32-18 lead. Beloit finally got a bucket and Rangel answered with her third jumper of the half. Rangel added a 3-pointer for 10 points and the Scots took a 37-24 lead into the halftime break.
Stearns scored the first basket of the second half and Rangel answered a Beloit bucket with a layup of her own. Goodrich scored the next three points with a free throw and layup as the Scots took a 17-point lead. Jones and Dinges both scored at the rim before Rangel knocked down her third 3-pointer of the game for a 51-33 lead. Hoy hit two free throws and Cox drilled a 3-pointer as Monmouth took a 56-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
Goodrich made a free throw early in the fourth as Beloit opened the frame on an 11-3 run. Delaney Scheidenhelm (New Berlin, Illinois) put the Scots up 61-52 with five minutes left. Jones scored in the paint and Cox scored to push the lead back to 13 as Beloit air-balled a 3-pointer with 2:35 left. Jones scored again and Monmouth held Beloit scoreless on the next three possessions. Jones added two free throws and Cox finished the scoring with a jumper for the 71-55 win.
Rangel led the Scots with 15 points while Jones posted a 14-point, 13-rebound double double. Cox added 11 points and six rebounds while Goodrich grabbed seven boards to go with three steals. Stearns had five assists and two steals.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: All 10 Monmouth players that played scored … Rangel made three 3-pointers for the second straight game and she has four straight games with at least two 3-pointers made … Jones posted her second career double-double with a career-high 13 rebounds … Monmouth held Beloit to 31% shooting for the game and 20% shooting from 3-point range … Monmouth won the battle of the boards 46-26 and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds … The 3-pointer Cox made at the buzzer in the third quarter was her first 3PA this season and her first made 3-pointer since Dec. 17, 2022 … The Scots ended a 20-game Midwest Conference losing streak that dated back to Feb. 2022 … The Scots have surpassed last year’s win total … Monmouth leads the all-time series 38-25, including a 11-4 record in the last 15 … The teams will play again in Wisconsin on Saturday, Jan. 11 … The Scots host Dominican on Thursday at 3 p.m. with the next MWC game scheduled for Jan. 4 at Illinois College
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
