Fighting Scots 2004-05 Basketball Game Summaries

Feb. 19, 2005 vs. Knox College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 69, Knox 56 (6-17, 5-11)
In a carbon copy of their first meeting six weeks ago, the Fighting Scots again held Knox to 19 first-half points, again took a 20-plus-point lead and again struggled late. But they also again beat the Prairie Fire, hanging on despite allowing Knox to cut the gap to single digits with less than two minutes to play. Whitney Shepherd scored half of the Scots' points in a 14-0 first-half run that gave Monmouth control of the game, and Ashley Yeast was also very busy before halftime, posting a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the game's first 20 minutes. Yeast's post opponent, Liz Grana, was the story in the second half, and her effort, which resulted in 22 points and 17 rebounds, nearly brought Knox back. But the Scots struggled through some poor free throw shooting to finish off the season sweep. Yeast wound up with 15 points and 14 boards, and Shepherd and senior Elyse Lambert each had 10. Courtney Scherrer added nine points, five assists and five steals and senior Janella Johnson notched five points in her MC finale.

Feb. 12, 2005 at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Ill.
Lake Forest 64, Monmouth 46 (5-17, 4-11)
The host Foresters pulled away from a second-half tie to post their second win over Monmouth this season. The Scots never led in the game, but they rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to tie it up at 40-40 on Ashley Yeast's layup with 11 minutes remaining. However, Monmouth would make just two jumpers and two free throws the rest of the way. Yeast grabbed 14 rebounds and Lisa Curry scored 13 points. Courtney Scherrer added nine points, three assists and three steals, but the Scots hit just 30 percent from the field and were outrebounded 50-41. Kristy Freeman paced the Foresters with 14 points.

Feb. 9, 2005 at Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.
Illinois College 64, Monmouth 55 (5-16, 4-10)
The host Lady Blues stormed out to a 38-20 halftime lead, but Elyse Lambert and Ashley Yeast, who both had double-doubles in the game, nearly brought Monmouth back in the second half. The Scots closed the gap to one three times, including 50-49 on a Whitney Shepherd jumper with 4:32 remaining, but IC scored the game's next nine points. Lambert finished with 18 points and 11 boards and Yeast scored a dozen to go with 13 rebounds. Becky Dixon chipped in four assists and three steals. Illinois College dominated the free throw shooting category, outscoring the Scots 22-4 from the foul line, including a 13-of-16 effort from sixth man Lisa Imel, who led the Lady Blues with 23 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

Feb. 5, 2005 vs. Ripon College, Monmouth, Ill.
Ripon 62, Monmouth 54 (5-15, 4-9)
The Fighting Scots stayed with perennial power Ripon for the entire game but could not come up with the big plays down the stretch as the Red Hawks posted the 200th victory of coach Julie Johnson's career. Ripon took a 33-30 halftime lead, but Ashley Yeast scored baskets on the Scots' first three second-half trips to show that Monmouth was not going to go away. The Scots received 12 points from Lisa Curry and 10 points apiece from Elyse Lambert and Yeast. Courtney Scherrer added three assists and four steals. Ripon was paced by the MWC's leading scorer, Karalyn Dehn, who had 23 points and nine rebounds. Morgan Roberts added 12 points off the bench and Janine Emmer had 10 points to go with a game-high six steals.

Feb. 4, 2005 vs. Beloit College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 69, Beloit 63 (5-14, 4-8)
For the second straight time at home, the Fighting Scots seemed to be comfortable playing from behind down the stretch. Visiting Beloit led throughout the second half by as many as eight points, but the Scots hung around and turned the contest into a see-saw affair. Mallory Mulvihill provided a big spark inside five minutes to play, giving the Scots a 58-57 lead and then scoring the next trip down for a three-point spread. Beloit tied the contest at 61-61 and against at 63-63, but Whitney Shepard scored what proved to be the game-winner with 42 seconds to play. After a Beloit turnover, Monmouth iced the game as Courtney Scherrer and Ashley Yeast each knocked down a pair of free throws. Scherrer led the Scots with a career-high 16 points and Yeast added 13 to go with eight rebounds. Mulvihill contributed six points, five steals, five assists and eight rebounds and Shepherd scored 10. Michele Westerkamp had 10 points for the Bucs.

Feb. 1, 2005 at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell 86, Monmouth 71 (4-14, 3-8)
The Fighting Scots scored the first eight points of the game but Grinnell had the last laugh, avenging an earlier defeat at Glennie Gym. The Pioneers stormed back to tie the contest at 12-12, then took the lead to stay at 20-17 on a three-pointer with 12:29 to go in the first half. The hosts led 42-34 at halftime and used a 13-4 run in a key three-minute stretch late in the game to seal the Scots' fate. Monmouth was done in by 33 turnovers, including four during the Pioneers' late run. Elyse Lambert led the Scots with 19 points, Lisa Curry scored 11 and Whitney Shepherd had 10. Hannah Wolf made seven treys and scored 25 points to pace Grinnell.

Jan. 29, 2005 at St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis.
St. Norbert 77, Monmouth 41 (4-13, 3-7)
The Fighting Scots had no luck at all in their 13th loss of the season. The worst luck was catching a talented team that happened to be playing its best defense of the season. On Friday, St. Norbert held Knox to just 25 points, and Monmouth didn't fare much better, netting its season low. Another stroke of misfortune was having to play without point guard Courtney Scherrer, the team's leader in steals and assists. The Green Knights led 33-19 at halftime and stayed ahead by 20 points or more for the last 15 minutes of the game. Elyse Lambert paced the Scots with 12 points and Whitney Shepherd added nine. Twelve SNC players scored, led Bianca White's 18 points.

Jan. 28, 2005 at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis.
Lawrence 68, Monmouth 54 (4-12, 3-6)
A career game from rising star Whitney Shepherd was not enough to carry the Fighting Scots in the first stage of a tough weekend road trip. Shepherd led the Scots in scoring for the third straight game, netting 19 points to go with 10 rebounds. Her effort on the glass helped the Scots to a 57-44 rebound edge, but Monmouth committed 27 turnovers and shot just 29.6 percent from the field. Ten minutes in, the Vikings led 23-3, as Monmouth only had a Becky Dixon three-pointer to show for its first 22 possessions. At one point, Monmouth turned the ball over on 10 straight trips. To their credit, the Scots battled back and even cut the deficit below double digits late in the second half. Laura Jahn added had six steals and nine rebounds for MC, while Lawrence was led by Claire Getzoff's 17 points.

Jan. 22, 2005 vs. Carroll College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 56, Carroll 52 (4-11, 3-5)
Trailing 47-41 with six minutes to play, Whitney Shepherd and Courtney Scherrer combined to lift the Fighting Scots to victory. Shepherd sliced Carroll's lead in half with a three-pointer, and after two Laura Jahn free throws, Scherrer assisted Elyse Lambert's basket, putting Monmouth ahead for the first time since the score was 2-0. Two possessions later, a baseline drive by Shepherd knotted the game at 50-50, and Scherrer then assisted Shepherd's tie-breaking hoop with under a minute to play. Scherrer untied the game again with two free throws with 41 seconds remaining and, after an exchange of turnovers, Shepherd's two free throws with nine ticks left sealed the game. For the second straight day, Shepherd led the Scots in scoring, netting 12, and Scherrer had eight points, six assists and four steals. Jahn also scored eight. Crystal Hoewisch led the Lady Pioneers with 14. 

Jan. 21, 2005 vs. St. Norbert College, Monmouth, Ill.
St. Norbert 71, Monmouth 58 (3-11, 2-5)
The Fighting Scots can hold their heads high after battling one of the MWC's elite teams hard for 40 minutes. Early on, in fact, the Green Knights didn't have an answer for Monmouth's high intensity, and the Scots used a 10-0 run to take a 20-9 lead with 11:01 to play. Team defense was a key, and so was the offense of Whitney Shepherd, who had eight points during the surge. St. Norbert had already cut three points off the deficit when coach Connie Tilley called a time-out and re-focused her squad. Her players responded with a 17-5 run from there, and the Knights led 32-29 at halftime. A trio of treys fueled an 11-0 run to start the second half, putting St. Norbert ahead 43-29, and the margin remained right around that number for the rest of the game. Shephard led the Scots with 10 points and Janella Johnson scored all nine of her points in the second half. Courtney Scherrer added nine points and four assists. Megan Hau scored all 12 of her points in the second half to pace the Knights.

Jan. 18, 2005 vs. Illinois College, Monmouth, Ill.
Illinois College 66, Monmouth 52 (3-10, 2-4)
In a game of runs, the Lady Blues fired first and last en route to a victory that didn't come easy. Illinois College scored the game's first seven points and led 15-4 with 13:18 remaining in the first half. The Scots fought their way back into the contest with an 11-2 run that included five straight points by Becky Dixon. Leading 27-23 at the half, IC threatened to put the game away with a couple quick baskets after intermission, but Monmouth responded with a 15-0 surge, which was capped by back-to-back treys by Courtney Scherrer and Janella Johnson for a 38-31 lead. The Scots' second-half lead eventually reached eight points, and Monmouth was still up 52-49 when Ashley Yeast sank two free throws with 5:50 remaining. Little did Monmouth know that those would be the last points it would get, as the Lady Blues scored the contests' final 17 points. The Scots were 0-for-9 from the field in that stretch and committed six turnovers. Yeast had eight points and eight rebounds to lead Monmouth and Scherrer chipped in seven points, five assists and three steals. Lisa Imel starred off the bench for IC, scoring 16 points to go with eight boards and five blocks. Megan Richards added 15 points and Courtney Allen scored 14.

Jan. 15, 2005 at Beloit College, Beloit, Wis.
Beloit 90, Monmouth 86 2OT (3-9, 2-3)
The last three Monmouth-Beloit games have either gone overtime or been decided by two points or less, so it was no surprise that the teams' first meeting this season required a pair of extra sessions. In all, the game was tied 19 times, including halftime. Monmouth never trailed in the second half and even took a 60-51 lead with under nine minutes to play, but three turnovers down the stretch allowed Beloit to tie the contest in the final minute on a three-point play by Caley Fields. Elyse Lambert, who led Monmouth with 20 points before fouling out, rescued the Scots in the first overtime, sinking the tying shot with two ticks left. Trailing by one in the second OT, Monmouth launched four shots on one possession in the final minute, but none of them fell and Fields came away with the defensive board. Beloit then made a free throw, got an offensive rebound and added two more foul tosses to seal the outcome. Laura Jahn, Courtney Scherrer and Lisa Curry added 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Scots. Beloit's remarkably balanced attack was keyed by four reserves who scored in double figures. Starter Michele Westerkamp led the Bucs with 14.

Jan. 14, 2005 at Ripon College, Ripon, Wis.
Ripon 80, Monmouth 48 (3-8, 2-2)
The Scots entered the night on a modest two-game winning streak, but the Red Hawks did not let Monmouth come close to extending the run. Even with reigning MWC Player of the Year Janine Emmer scoring just seven points, the hosts had plenty of firepower, placing four in double figures, including Karalyn Dehn, who netted a game-high 17. Monmouth, which committed 25 turnovers to more than double Ripon's total, was led by Elyse Lambert, who scored 11 points. Laura Jahn and Mallory Mulvihill added eight points apiece and Courtney Scherrer made five steals and dished out four assists.

Jan. 11, 2005 vs. Grinnell College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 91, Grinnell 76 (3-7, 2-1)
Led by a career night from Lisa Curry, the Fighting Scots prevailed in their first encounter with the women's version of the Grinnell "system." The Pioneers pressed full court all night and fired up 47 three-pointers, but Monmouth stayed relatively composed throughout. Curry scored three baskets in a 10-3 run that opened the game up a little for the Scots in the second half, and she closed out an 8-0 run with two more baskets for a 70-56 lead with just over six minutes to play. She netted 17 of her career-high 21 points in the second half, and she finished the night with 15 rebounds, helping Monmouth to an overwhelming 59-31 edge on the glass. Elyse Lambert also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, and Courtney Scherrer came very close to posting the first triple-double in the history of the women's program, dishing out 10 assists to go with nine points and eight rebounds. Whitney Shepherd (12), Mallory Mulvihill (11) and Cassie Jensen (10) also cracked double digits for the Scots, who hadn't scored 91 points in a game since netting 94 in the 1995-96 season. Grinnell was led by Katy Bowen, who made five treys and finished with 27 points. The Pioneers were just 11-of-47 from three-point range.

Jan. 8, 2005 at Knox College, Galesburg, Ill.
Monmouth 76, Knox 61 (2-7, 1-1)
Defensive intensity was a big part of the story in a game Monmouth dominated for most of the way. In the first half, the Scots held their hosts to less than a point per minute, jumping out to a 42-19 lead. Ashley Yeast netted 15 of her team-high 17 points in those first 20 minutes and Courtney Scherrer picked Knox's pocket four times and cruised in for easy layups. Scherrer also came up big in the second half and tied her collegiate high with 15 points to go with seven steals. Also playing well for the Scots were Elyse Lambert, who scored 10 points, and Mallory Mulvihill and Cassie Jensen, who each netted nine. The Scots went on to take a 67-40 second-half lead with nine minutes left before the Fire got warm and used some of their seven second-half treys to go on a 16-0 run to cut the deficit to 11 at one point. Yeast added 11 rebounds and four steals, while Scherrer dished out four assists.

Dec. 28, 2004 vs. Notre Dame College, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Notre Dame 84, Monmouth 63 (1-7)
For the second straight game in Florida, the Scots fell way behind early, and this time they couldn't catch up. It took Notre Dame just 1:15 to jump out to a 11-0 lead and, after Elyse Lambert scored on a layup, Notre Dame tallied the next six points and never led by less than 10 the rest of the way. Another trend continued for the Scots, as they were led in scoring by a reserve. It wasn't Rachel Jenks (she missed the game with an injury), but Ashley Yeast came up big, netting 16 points to go with 12 rebounds as the Scots again received more scoring from their bench (35 points) than their starters (28). Lambert had 10 points and Courtney Scherrer had nine points and three assists. Notre Dame had a substantial lead in two categories, connecting on 11 three-pointers (on 38 attempts) compared to Monmouth's two and committing just 16 turnovers while Monmouth had 28 miscues.

Dec. 27, 2004 at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Fla.
PBA 71, Monmouth 56 (1-6)
A career night from Rachel Jenks wasn't enough to prevent the Scots from falling in their first of two games in the Sunshine State. In becoming Monmouth's sixth different leading scorer in seven games, Jenks tallied the most points by a Scot this season, shooting 100 percent on a trio of three-pointers and finishing with 17 points. While Jenks had the hot hand, a few Scots did not, as starters Mallory Mulvihill, Janella Johnson and Lisa Curry were a combined 3-of-26. The Scots surrendered the first 11 points of the game, but they played a fairly even contest for much of the remainder and trailed by just one point, 51-50, with 11 minutes to play. Led by Jenks and seven points by Becky Dixon, Monmouth's reserves outscored the starting five 30-26.

Dec. 17, 2004 at Eureka College, Eureka, Ill.
Eureka 66, Monmouth 61 (1-5)
After tying a record for three-point shooting in their previous game, the Fighting Scots lost their touch on the road, hitting on just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, in a game that was very even in most statistical categories, the hosts made six treys on 40 percent accuracy. Monmouth took a 20-19 lead on Mallory Mulvihill's jumper with 7:04 left in the first half, but the Scots would never lead again. The host Red Devils were in front by as many as nine in the opening half before settling for a 35-30 lead at intermission. Eureka quickly regained control in the second half, going up 54-39 with 10 minutes left. Monmouth made one final run, but missed a three-pointer with 36 seconds left that would have cut the lead to two. Mulvihill, last year's leading scorer for the Scots, had her first double-digit game of the season, leading the way with 13 points, and Lisa Curry netted 12. Courtney Scherrer had seven rebounds and four assists, while Janella Johnson dished out seven assists. Eureka was led by Sarah Deakin, who netted 20 points, and Molly Hardesty, who chipped in 15.

Dec. 11, 2004 vs. Greenville College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 64, Greenville 60 (1-4)
It took a record-setting performance from beyond the arc and some heroics off the bench, but the Fighting Scots posted their first victory of the season. Monmouth fell behind 31-23 at the break after a woeful 10-of-35 effort from the field, but the Scots found their range in the second half, connecting on six three-pointers to finish with nine for the game, which ties the school mark. The two biggest treys belonged to reserve Rachel Jenks, who tied the game at 50-50 with a trey and then put the Scots up for good at 57-54 with another trifecta. From there, Monmouth nearly handed the game back to the Panthers, missing four straight free throws at one point, but Courtney Scherrer sank one foul toss with 13 seconds left to make the score 61-60, and Greenville missed a short shot with six seconds left that would have given them back the lead. Elyse Lambert led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points and Janella Johnson made three treys and netted 10 points. Lisa Curry and Jenks both had nine points off the bench, and Scherrer added nine points of her own to go with team highs of four assists and four steals. Greenville was led by Trisha Draege, who scored 15.

Dec. 4, 2004 vs. Lake Forest College, Monmouth, Ill.
Lake Forest 82, Monmouth 58 (0-4, 1-1)
The Foresters scored the first 12 points of the game and added a 21-5 run in the minutes before and after halftime to top the Fighting Scots in the MWC opener for both teams. In a contest that saw Monmouth limit usual Lake Forest nemesis Shannon Clerkin to just eight points, it was the Foresters' guard play that made the major difference. Point guard Kandyce Green connected on 7-of-11 shots to finish with 17 points, and shooting guard Kristy Freeman was even more efficient, netting all six of her attempts, including five treys, to also tally 17. Freeman is on an amazing run, as she was 7-of-7 from beyond the arc in the Foresters' last game. Overall, she's made 13 straight three-point attempts, tying the Division III record. The women's all-division record is 14. Freeman has also made 17 straight field goal attempts, one shy of the Division III record. Monmouth's Janella Johnson made two treys of her own and finished as the Scots' leading scorer with 10.

Nov. 28, 2004 vs. St. Mary's (Ind.) College, Monmouth, Ill.
St. Mary's 69, Monmouth 54 (0-3)
The Fighting Scots continue to battle hard, but they couldn't get over the hump after cutting an 18-point St. Mary's lead to just six with 6:39 remaining. Janella Johnson had a basket and a three-pointer to give Monmouth some momentum at 54-48 but, following a St. Mary's time-out, the Scots would only score one field goal in the next six minutes. They committed three turnovers in a costly two-and-a-half minute stretch, and suddenly the visiting Belles were ahead 62-48. Courtney Scherrer was the only Scot in double figures with 11, but on the bright side, all 11 players who saw action scored. Elyse Lambert added seven rebounds and three steals. St. Mary's received a 24-point effort from Bridget Boyce, and post Maureen Bush scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Nov. 27, 2004 vs. Cardinal Stritch University, Monmouth, Ill.
Cardinal Stritch 71, Monmouth 56 (0-2)
The Fighting Scots had more second-chance points, more bench scoring and a 35-27 edge in rebounds, but it was another stat they had more of that proved to be their undoing in the first game of the EconoFoods/Pizza Hut Classic. The Scots committed 29 turnovers, nearly double their opponent's total, to fall to 0-2 on the year. Elyse Lambert brought Monmouth within two at 25-23 with just under eight minutes left in the first half, but the Scots then turned the ball over on six of their next eight trips, and the Wolves extended their lead to 34-23. Monmouth fell behind by 17 points in the second half but had a chance to cut the deficit to single digits with just over 10 minutes to play. However, the Scots threw the ball away again, and CSU took over from there, going on a 10-3 run to again lead by 17. Lambert, the only MC player in double figures, led the Scots with 15 points, while Ashley Yeast contributed eight rebounds. Four Cardinal Stritch starters scored in double figures, and the one who didn't - point guard Megan Pazdera - dished out 11 assists and made five steals.

Nov. 20, 2004 at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis.
Carthage 74, Monmouth 46 (0-1)
The Fighting Scots fell on hard times in their opener. After Courtney Scherrer's free throw gave the Scots a 1-0 lead, Carthage took charge and never looked back, building a 13-point lead by halftime. Cold shooting doomed Monmouth, as the Scots made just over 30 percent of their shots from the floor and a dismal 41 percent from charity stripe. The Scots found a bright spot in volleyball player Ashley Yeast, who collected a double-double in her collegiate basketball debut, pulling down 10 rebounds to go with 12 points.