After a cancelled 2020-2021 season, the Fighting Scots men’s and women’s basketball teams are returning to the court with the men starting their practice over fall break On the women’s team, six members are returning juniors and seniors while there are four newcomers to the court, both freshmen and sophomores who had their freshmen season cancelled. The women’s season boasts twenty-three games, starting with an away game at Iowa Wesleyan University on November 10 and going through their season to finish with a conference game against Cornell College. The season consists of sixteen Midwest Conference games and seven non-conference games as the ladies move through their schedule. The women welcomed new head coach Megan Jones, hired back in August. Jones is transitioning to the Scots from Luther College where she served as their assistant coach for the past three seasons. Jones played ball at Loras College and graduated in 2016 where her team won a conference title and made it to the NCAA Division III National Tournament twice. Already hitting the court, the men’s basketball team had their first game on November 1, a preseason game, and faced off against Western Illinois University in an away game. Their season boasts twenty-five games, including sixteen conference games and one tournament. Led by head coach Todd Skrivseth, the team consists of twenty-two men, including twelve players who will take the court for their first game as a Fighting Scot. The team is hoping to push for a higher MWC record than their season two years ago where they finished with a score of 9-9. The men faced off against the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater last Friday to start off their regular season. The Scots scored first as senior Jordan Metcalf made a layup after a Warhawks turnover. Monmouth fell behind 13-8 before five straight points from freshman Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) tied the game with 11:01 to play in the half. The Warhawks then went on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes and took control of the game. The Scots got it back to a single digit lead at 27-19 before UWW scored eight in a row and the visitors took a 38-25 lead going into halftime. The Warhawks scored 11 of the first 14 points in the second half to take a 49-28 lead at the fifteen minute mark. Monmouth then made a run and got it back down to 15 with ten and a half minutes to go. Metcalf finished with 16 points, tying UWW's Jack Brahm for high-scoring honors in the game. Senior Jonathan Oradiegwu was the only other Scots player in double digits with 11 points while Flynn finished with nine. The game ended with a score of 73-52. The menwill be back on the court on November 17 in an away game against Coe College
Brooke McCormick - Sports Editor