Tanesha Hughes is averaging 15.0 points per game.

After a thrilling 80-79 victory over Lake Forest, the women’s basketball team is 7-4 in the Midwest Conference and has high hopes of qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 1998. The Fighting Scots aren’t in the league’s top four just yet – they’re currently a half-game back in fifth place – but they could reach the top four as early as this coming weekend when they play host to St. Norbert and Ripon.

A turning point in Monmouth’s season came on Jan. 17, when the Scots not only defeated perennial power Carroll, but did so by 20 points, winning 86-66. Seniors Tanesha Hughes and Melissa Gorski combined to score Monmouth’s first 25 points on their way to finishing with 30 and 26 points, respectively.

The duo was at it again vs. Lake Forest, as Hughes had 25 points and Gorski scored a career-high 30, including the game-winning basket with one second remaining. The classmates are in the top five in the league in scoring, and, led by Hughes’ MWC-best 9.9 average, are in the top three in rebounding. Gosrki leads the league in assists and teammates Allison Andrews and Lynsey Barnard are atop the MWC in blocked shots and three-point shooting, respectively.