Monmouth, Illinois. (2023/01/02) Monmouth College’s women’s basketball team survived Monday night’s scare but held off the heavyweights who beat Lawrence 75-72 in overtime. It’s 2 vs 2 in a match.
Lawrence grabbed the first basket on the first possession, but the Scots answered through senior Zoe Wall (Bartonville, IL). Neither team scored for the next two minutes before Wall’s long jump gave Monmouth a 4–2 lead. Audrey Law (Bloomington, Ill.) scored the basket and the Scots kept Lawrence off his 7:17 board. Wall had a 10–4 lead on the next two Monmouth possessions before the Vikings called timeout. Ashley Jones (Abingdon, IL) scored on his possession in the final of the quarter Monmouth for a 12-6 lead.
Jones scored again early in the second quarter to put Scotland up by eight. Wall hit a 3-point shot from the right side to lead 17-8. Lily Harlan (Washington, IL) held an 11-point lead in the lane before the Vikings returned to the board. Wall saw him take his 3-pointer at 2:30 and Scotland lead 25-13 on him, giving him a 10-point lead at half-time.
The teams exchanged baskets in the first 4:30 of the second half until Madison Huish (Illinois City, IL) hit a three-point shot to take a 32-19 lead. The Vikings made a 5-0 run before a free throw from Harlan. Lawrence, who was 12-1 for him from the deep in the first half, had his 4th straight hit in the 3rd quarter and cut the lead to his 8 as Monmouth answered each make with its own bucket . Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) hit his own 3-pointer to take his 41-30 lead before Lone Reese scored his 5-pointer at the end of the quarter.
Jones bucketed Scotland back to seven early in the fourth before Lawrence hit four free throws to cut the lead to three. Harlan padded his shot from the corner for his 3-pointer and he took a 48-42 lead, but the Vikings scored his shot for another 3-pointer. Wall scored his two free throws and Scotland put him ahead 52-45 with 3:25 on his side. After the Vikings scored, Harlan laid up and the visitors called a timeout. Lawrence made another of his 3-pointers and cut the lead to 4 in 90 seconds. The Scots turned it over, but Warner stole the ball back. Jones scored on a putback and was fouled with 46.8 seconds remaining, giving Scotland a 57–50 lead. Lawrence scored, earned a turnover, and hit another of his 3-pointers to cut the lead to 57-55 for him. Warner went to the line and split the free throw with 8.8 seconds left. The Vikings called a timeout and he tied the game with 1.3 seconds remaining. Scotland called timeout but failed to shoot before the clock ran out.
Jones scored in Monmouth’s first overtime to give them a 60–58 lead. Law scored his two free throws to give him a 62-59 lead and Lawrence scored the bucket on the move to the next floor. He completed his play by three points in the Vikings’ first lead since 2-0. Jones scored a second chance in the lane to tie the score at 64. Lawrence took the lead again, but Harlan remained behind. He completed his play with three points in 34.6 seconds, giving Scotland his 71–70 lead. After the Vikings got back on top, Harlan hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to take a 74-72 lead. Lawrence missed a layup, Wall hit a free throw, and the final score was him 75-72.
Wall scored a career-high 29 points and had a career-high 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Jones scored 17 points and Harlan added 14 points for Monmouth.
A Moment of the Month: The team split two games last season, winning both at home. Scotland have won 25 and lost 2 against Lawrence since the start of the 2007-08 season. Lawrence’s last win at Monmouth was in the 2006–07 season when he won the season sweep. Monmouth will play Beloit College this Saturday at 1pm at home.