The Monmouth College women's basketball team hit a school-record 15 3-pointers and knocked off Lake Forest 95-64 in the Midwest Conference opener on Tuesday night. The Scots (5-2, 1-0) got a career-high 24 points and four made 3-pointers from senior Lily Harlan (Washington, Illinois) in the win.
On their second possession the Scots grabbed an offensive rebound and Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) knocked down a 3-pointer. Zoie Wall (Bartonville, Illinois) made a 3-pointer on the next possession for a 6-0 Monmouth lead. Wall hit another 3-pointer after a Lake Forest timeout and a putback from Harlan gave Monmouth an 11-0 advantage. The Foresters ended the run with a layup and the teams traded baskets.
Katie Neher scored seven points in a row for Lake Forest as they cut the lead to two at 13-11. But Monmouth answered with inside buckets from Audrey Law (Bloomington, Indiana) and Warner. Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Illinois) knocked down a 3-pointer and pushed the lead back to nine at 20-11 as Lake Forest called timeout.. The Foresters scored the final five points of the quarter and Monmouth led 20-16 after one.
Wall hit a free throw on the first possession of the quarter before Monmouth went to work from the arc again. Mitchell knocked down a 3-pointer on the wing before Warner hit three's from opposite sides of the court on the next two possessions for a 30-16 Monmouth lead. Lake Forest hit a free throw to end the 10-0 run and the visitors got a layup to cut the lead back down to 11.
With three Scots, including two starters on the bench in foul trouble, Lake Forest cut the lead to six. Harlan made a layup to give the Scots a 36-28 lead. The Foresters made a pair of free throws before Warner stole the ball, made a layup and converted a free throw for a 39-30 Scots lead. Harlan made a jumper at the buzzer for a 43-34 halftime lead.
Both teams scored early in the third before Harlan knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer for a 48-36 lead. Harlan made another 3-pointer for a 51-38 lead and Mitchell's layup gave the Scots their largest lead of the game at 15. The 3-point barrage continued as Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) made the 10th 3-pointer of the night to give Monmouth a 56-40 lead.
Mitchell made a 3-pointer and Harlan scored on consecutive possessions to give Monmouth a 63-44 advantage. Harlan added to her double-digit scoring quarter with two free throws as the Scots went on top 65-44. Lake Forest went on a little run to end the quarter with nine of the last 12 points as the Scots led 68-53.
Mitchell hit a 3-pointer from the wing on Monmouth's first possession of the fourth quarter for a 71-53 lead. With the lead at 73-55, Wall made a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the single-game school record of 13 made 3-pointers. Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made a layup and Harlan hit the record-breaking 3-pointer from in front of the Monmouth bench. Harlan made another 3-pointer for an 86-59 lead before Wall and Law made four straight free throws. Jones scored and Kiersten Cox (Illinois City, Illinois) made a free throw for a 95-64 final.
Harlan led the Scots with 24 points and 11 rebounds while Warner had 20 points and eight rebounds. Mitchell and Wall both had 14 points and five assists. Harlan led the Scots with four steals.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: The previous record for made 3-pointers in a game was 13, done on Dec. 7, 2011 against Illinois College and Feb. 20, 2016 against Lawrence. This year's high was 10 and last year's high was 12. The 36 attempts are also a new single-game record, breaking the mark of 34 set in 2020 and matched multiple times last season. Harlan's previous career high was 19 points and three 3-pointers made, both from last season. Mitchell made four 3-pointers and is 11-for-16 in the last five games from deep. Warner and Wall both made three 3-pointers. Warner has at least 11 points in every game this season. Warner leads the team with 13 steals. Harlan has two double-doubles on the season. Monmouth was 18-of-24 from the free throw line and outrebounded Lake Forest 40 to 37. The Scots never trailed, leading for 39:01 of the 40 minutesMonmouth scored at least 20 points in all four quarters. The next home game is Dec. 17 against Westminster (Mo.) and the next home MWC game is Jan. 2, 2023 against Lawrence. The Scots head to Beloit on Saturday for their first MWC road game with a 1 p.m. tipoff.
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