MONMOUTH, ILL. (12/17/2022) The Monmouth College men’s basketball team trailed by as many as nine points on Saturday but rallied for an 80-74 non-conference win over Westminster. The Scots (6-4) have won two straight home games and will play their next two games on the road.
Kendall Brasfield (Chicago, Illinois) scored off the opening tip and had four of the Scots first seven points. David Williams (Loves Park, Illinois) had the other three and the game was tied 7-7 before the Bluejays converted a 3-point play. Jordan Hill (Chicago, Illinois) made a free throw then converted a layup off a steal for a 15-14 Monmouth lead. Westminster scored four straight before Williams hit another 3-pointer on the wing to tie the game at 18. Westminster converted another 3-point play then hit a 3-pointer for a 24-18 lead. After Brasfield scored in the lane, the Bluejays hit a free throw for a 25-20 lead.
Jordan Metcalf (Aledo, Illinois) split free throws with Brasfield grabbing the rebound and finding Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) for a wide-open 3-pointer. Two possessions later, Plumer scored in the lane after Metcalf grabbed an offensive rebound. Westminster turned it over and Metcalf scored in the lane for a 28-25 lead. The visitors scored the next five before Plumer tied the game at 30 on a putback. Westminster scored seven of the next nine to take a 39-32 lead into halftime.
Metcalf scored the first four points of the half for the Scots after Westminster pushed their lead to nine. Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) made a pair of free throws and Flynn made a putback to make it 44-40 Bluejays. Williams made a free throw after a flopping technical and Metcalf scored in the lane to cut the Bluejays lead to 44-43. The visitors went back up by five before Plumer made a free throw and WIlliams hit a 3-pointer. Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas) scored in the lane to tie the game at 49 but missed the free throw for the lead.
The Bluejays scored and Monmouth pulled even again with 9:00 to play. After a turnover gave the Scots the ball, Taylor made a pair of free throws for a 53-51 lead but the Bluejays responded with a 3-pointer. Hill tied the game with a layup and after a Bluejays free throw, Taylor made a floater in the lane. Metcalf’s free throws gave Monmouth a 59-56 lead with 5:50 to play and Plumer converted a 3-point play for a 6-point lead. Westminster scored four quick points before Brasfield made a pair of free throws.
Brasfield made a 3-pointer for a 67-62 Scots lead with 4:00 to play. The Bluejays scored but Plumer’s putback kept the Scots on top by five. Metcalf found Williams for a dunk but then fouled out with 2:51 to play. Up four, the Scots turned it over but the Bluejays missed two free throws. Brasfield got a steal and a bucket before Westminster scored to cut the Scots lead to 73-69 with 1:21 left. Taylor made two free throws and Flynn got a steal and a basket for a 77-69 Monmouth lead. Williams made a pair of free throws before Westminster hit a long 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Leading 79-74, Williams split free throws and the Bluejays missed their shot as the clock ran out.
Brasfield led the Scots with 17 points while Williams had 15. Metcalf and Plumer both had 13 points and Brasfield led the Scots with eight rebounds. Metcalf had four steals and two blocks while both Taylor and Brasfield had three assists.
The Scots will play at Eureka Monday night. Monmouth opened the season by beating Eureka at home 83-75 on Nov. 9.
Women’s Basketball Falls to Bluejays
Law scores 12 for Monmouth
MONMOUTH, ILL. (12/17/2022) The Monmouth College women’s basketball led after three quarters but couldn’t pull off a win in a 57-52 loss to Westminster on Saturday. The non-conference loss drops the Scots to 5-6 on the season.
Westminster jumped out to a 6-0 lead as they knocked down 3-pointers on their first two possessions. Monmouth had four turnovers before Madison Heisch (Illinois City, Illinois) made a free throw to get the Scots on the board. Lily Harlan (Washington, Illinois) made a field goal on the next possession to cut the Westminster lead to 8-3. Zoie Wall (Bartonville, Illinois) made her first shot of the game and scored again on the next possession for a 6-0 Scots run. Down 10-7, Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) got into the scoring column before the teams traded baskets. Westminster hit another 3-pointer and pushed the lead to 16-11 before Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made a layup and Wall scored off her own miss.
Down 16-15 after the quarter, Monmouth took their first lead as Jones scored in the lane to start the second quarter. Harlan scored on a layup for a 19-16 lead before Westminster ended the 8-0 run. Warner buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key before the visitors went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 22. Jones made a free throw and Audrey Law (Bloomington, Indiana) put the Scots up 25-22 with 2:30 to go in the half. Westminster scored the final five points of the half to lead 27-25 at the break.
The Bluejays hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and Harlan answered with one of her own. Jones completed a 3-point play to give Monmouth a 31-30 lead but the Bluejays scored the next five points. Allie Hoy (Woodland, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer and Law made a runner in the lane for a 36-35 Scots lead. Both teams went cold before Harlan scored in the lane with 2:00 to go in the quarter. Leading by three, the Scots got a 3-pointer from Hoy with the shot clock winding down to go up 41-35. Law scored with 10 seconds left in the quarter for a 43-35 lead heading into the fourth.
Westminster scored their first points in more than six minutes in their first possession of the fourth quarter. The Bluejays scored again to cut the Scots lead to four. Law scored four straight points to put the Scots up 49-42 but the Bluejays scored the next four points as the Scots turned the ball over. Kiersten Cox (Illinois City, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer to put the Scots up six with 5:07 to play as the Bluejays called timeout. Westminster scored the next six points to tie the game with 1:35 to play. Monmouth turned it over and the Bluejays took the lead with just under one minute to play. Warner missed a runner in the lane and the Bluejays got the rebound. They missed but got a rebound, forcing the Scots to foul. The Bluejays split the free throws with 12.3 seconds left to lead 55-52. The Scots got a look at the game-tying shot but it was short and the Bluejays made two more free throws for a 57-52 win.
Law led the Scots with 12 points while Harlan had nine, Wall had eight and Jones had seven. Harlan led the way with nine rebounds while Wall and Law had two steals.
The Scots are off until Dec. 30 when they host Augustana College in a non-conference game.
