ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Rangel’s three-pointer cements victory over Foresters
Billy Lopatto - Staff Writer
Fighting Scots women’s basketball completed their home campaign with a season sweep over the visiting Lake Forest Foresters with a 69-64 victory in Glennie Gymnasium on February 18th. Thanks to a clutch three-point shot by Averi Rangel with 39.6 seconds to play, in addition to insurance free throws by Tiah Riggs and Allie Hoy, the Scots held off a fierce Forester rally to record another late-season conference win.
“I was trying to picture a make,” said Hoy about her clutch-free-throw performance. “Every time, I tell myself ‘Make, make, make’; Try not to jinx myself out.”
The first three minutes saw great defensive efforts from both teams, as the score remained tied 2-2 through the first four minutes. The Foresters broke the deadlock with a layup, which was responded to by a three-pointer from Rangel. After both teams traded scores and a scoring microburst for the Scots, the Foresters led Monmouth 15-11 after one quarter. In the second quarter, the Scots outscored Lake Forest 22-14 and went into the locker room with a 33-29 lead.
In During the second half, the hosts caught fire, extending their lead to 16 with five minutes to play in the third quarter.
However, the Foresters cut the lead to ten going into the fourth. The closing frame saw a massive rally by the Foresters, who tied the game at 62 with a minute to play. But with the clutch three-point shot by Rangel and free throws by Hoy, Monmouth slammed the door on Lake Forest for a 69-64 victory.
Stearns led the way for the Scots in the evening with 18 points and seven rebounds. Tiah Riggs and Hoy both followed in scoring, chipping in 13 points each, and Rangel followed up with 11 points on the evening. As a team, Monmouth shot an impressive 85.7% from the line and shot 25-67 from field goal range, with 29.2% of those shots coming from three-point land.
On Saturday, the Scots closed their season with an 81-62 loss to the Illinois College Lady Blues. They bid farewell to seniors Kynlee Stearns, Mackenzie, Yarc, Hannah Peel, Allie Hoy, Kiersten Cox, Avery Rangel, Ella Goodrich, and Brooklyn Sellers.