The Monmouth College women’s basketball team couldn’t keep up with Knox in the second half on Saturday, falling 81-53 The Fighting Scots (5-15, 2-9) are back home on Wednesday and four of the final five games of the regular season will be at Glennie Gym.
Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made a layup on Monmouth’s first possession and Delaney Scheidenhelm (New Berlin, Illinois) gave the Scots a 4-1 lead with a jumper. Knox answered with a 7-0 run, Jones scored again before Knox hit a 3-pointer and extended to a 15-6 lead. Brooklyn Sellers (Freeport, Illinois) cut the lead to six and Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) made two free throws. Jones scored again but Knox responded to lead 19-12 after the opening quarter.
Goodrich answered a Knox basket to start the second quarter. Knox extended to a 12-point lead before Averi Rangel (Moline, Illinois) got a bucket. Both teams were held without points for more than three minutes before Madi Finch (Aledo, Illinois) hit a jumper. Sellers scored in the paint and Allie Hoy (Woodland, Illinois) hit two free throws to pull Monmouth within eight, Jones added a pair of free throws and Sellers scored at the rim. Knox ran the lead back to nine at halftime, 35-26.
Knox started the second half on a 14-0 run to lead 49-26 before Kynlee Stearns (Gilson, Illinois) made a layup. Goodrich made a free throw and Scheidenhelm made two at the line. Hoy got a steal and a layup, cutting the Knox lead to 18. Knox scored four in a row before Scheidenhelm scored in the paint. The Prairie Fire finished the quarter on a 10-1 run to lead 65-36.
Jones scored Monmouth’s first five points of the fourth quarter but Knox pushed the lead to 31 at 72-41. Jones scored another five points but Knox answered to lead 77-46. Ava Borchardt (Harvard, Illinois) made a free throw with 1:11 remaining. Jones scored in the final minute and Goodrich added a bucket with 34 seconds to play. Borchardt scored on a putback for the final Monmouth points of the game as Knox won 81-53.
Jones led the Scots with 21 points while Sellers had nine rebounds.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Jones has scored in double figures 16 times this season, including seven straight games … She has scored at least 20 in four games … Jones scored 12 points in the fourth quarter … Sellers had a career-high nine rebounds … Borchardt went to the free-throw line for the first time in her college career, splitting the two attempts … Monmouth leads the all-time series 62-43 but Knox is 7-3 in the last 10 … Knox has won five straight in the series dating back to the 2022 MWC Tournament when the Scots won 57-48 in Ripon … The teams meet again in Monmouth on Feb. 11 … The Scots are home on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Illinois College.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
