Women's Basketball Against Knox
The Monmouth College women’s basketball team lost to first-ranked Knox at home, 45-38 on Wednesday February 8th. The Fighting Scots (10-13, 6-8) almost managed a comeback, trailing by 14 at half, but outscoring the Prairie Fire 22-15 in the second half.
Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) banked in the first shot for the Scots 2-0 lead before Knox made a four point run. Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) tied it back up with a layup. Lily Harlan (Washington, Illinois) sunk two free throws before Zoie Wall (Bartonville, Illinois) scored a 15-footer to make it 10-8 Prairie Fire. Knox would hit two threes in their eight point run before Wall hit another jumper to close out the quarter.
The Prairie Fire struck first in the second quarter before Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) put in a free throw. Yet another jump shot from Wall squeezed Knox’s lead to 25-13 halfway through the quarter. Split free throws, then a drive and score from Harlan had the Fighting Scots down 30-16 at the half.
Wall answered Knox’s quick start to the second half with another mid-range shot before Goodrich would split free throws and spark energy into the Scots with a 3-pointer to lessen the Prairie Fire lead to 34-22. Warner capitalized on a Knox turnover to draw a foul in which she would sink both shots at the line. Wall would answer yet another Prairie Fire score with a three ball this time on the assist from Allie Hoy (Woodland, Illinois), chipping away at the lead to make it 38-27 before the end of the third.
The Scots’ first bucket of the fourth was a put-back from Harlan who would draw a charge on the other end. Traded free throws had the Scots down 41-31 with 5:38 to play. Neither team would score for nearly five minutes before Harlan broke the drought with a tough shot at the basket. After Knox responded with a two of their own, Goodrich sunk another 3-pointer to keep the Scots within single digits of the lead, 43-36, with just over a minute to play. Split Knox free throws allowed Warner to nail a jumper to draw within six, 44-38. The Prairie Fire would close it out with another split trip to the line, winning over the Scots 45-38.
Knox achieved their first season series sweep against the Scots since 2017-18, but Monmouth leads the all-time series 62-40. Harlan has scored double digits in 11 of her last 12 games, managing four double-doubles in this season alone. The Fighting Scots now prepare for their two game road trip at Ripon Saturday, followed by Cornell next Tuesday.
Jake Rathgeb - Guest Writer