Fighting Scots 2007-2008 Basketball Game Summaries

Feb. 18, 2008 vs. Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell 70, Monmouth 57 (12-10, 8-7)
The Fighting Scots' post season dreams came crashing down with a 70-57 loss to the Pioneers in Grinnell. Monmouth fought off a 44-30 halftime deficit to slowly get back within striking distance late in the game. A pair of Allison Andrews free throws with 5:22 left pulled Monmouth to within four, 56-52, but that was as close as the Scots would get as the Pioneers' defense held the Scots to five points over the final five minutes. The loss eliminated Monmouth from postseason contention. Elise Waldorf paced the Scots with 14, Melissa Gorski chipped in with 13 and Tanesha Hughes added 10. Ashley Yeast's pursuit of the 1,000 points/1,000 rebounds club slipped. With one game remaining, Yeast needs 25 points and four rebounds to reach the club of one.

Feb. 16, 2008 vs. Illinois College at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 81, Illinois College 71 (12-9, 8-6)
Monmouth knows every game is a playoff game if they hope to get a berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament. The Scots played like the post-season was on the line in an 81-71 win over Illinois College on Senior Day. Senior Ashley Yeast posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds as four Scots posted double figures. The Lady Blues led for the first 5:25 before Katie Sheets drained a three to give the Scots an 11-9 lead. Trailing 37-30 at the half, IC wouldn't go away after the break and trimmed the Monmouth lead to two, 51-49, on a Janelle Kuhn jumper with 10:39 to play. The Scots responded and regained a double-digit lead before the Lady Blues were forced to foul down the stretch. Melissa Gorski scored six of her game-high 29 points on 6-of-6 free throw shooting in the final minute to help the Scots ice the game. Elise Waldorf collected 13 points and Lynsey Barnard added 11.

Feb. 13, 2008 vs. Knox College at Galesburg, Ill.
Monmouth 72, Knox 49 (11-9, 7-6)
The Scots kept their playoff hopes alive with a 72-49 win at Knox. Monmouth sits one game out of the MWC playoffs on the loss side and could move into a virtual tie for the final spot with Beloit pending the outcome of the Bucs' game with St. Norbert. Knox led Monmouth through much of the first half before Elise Waldorf gave the Scots the lead for good, scoring four of her 13 points at the start of Monmouth's 16-0 run over the final seven minutes to lead 33-20 at the half. Ashley Yeast moved closer to the 1,000/1,000 club, pulling down 15 rebounds and scoring a team-high 14 points. The senior center now has 979 rebounds and 958 points in her career. With three games remaining, she could become the first Scot to record 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points. Katie Sheets came off the bench to post 12 points. Tanesha Hughes pulled down 10 rebounds.

Feb. 9, 2008 vs. Carroll College at Waukesha, Wis.
Carroll 73, Monmouth 49 (10-9, 6-6)
An auspicious start by the Scots suddenly took a turn for the worse in a 73-49 loss to the Pioneers. Melissa Gorski's layup and Ashley Yeast's jumper put Monmouth up 4-0 in the early going, but when Carroll took a two-point lead at the 13:02 mark, things began to unravel for the Scots. The Pioneers never surrendered the lead and slowly pulled way to a 40-24 halftime lead. The Pioneers maintained that margin throughout the second half. The loss kept the Scots in fifth place in the MWC, one spot out of a potential playoff berth with four games remaining. Gorski led the Scots with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Elise Waldorf added 13 and Yeast posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. 

Feb. 8, 2008 vs. Lawrence University at Appleton, Wis.
Monmouth 66, Lawrence 51 (10-8, 6-5)
Apparently, nearly two weeks off did little harm to the Fighting Scots who stayed alive in the Midwest Conference playoff race with a 66-51 win over the Vikings. Monmouth trailed only once in the game, 3-2 with 16:21 left in the first half. The Scots then took charge and enjoyed their largest lead when Ashley Yeast's jumper in the lane made it 46-27 with 14:31 left. The Vikings made it interesting, getting as close as six with six minutes to play, but Monmouth's defense took over and allowed just one field goal over the final 5:14. The Scots clinched it by hitting 7-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes. Yeast shattered the college's career rebound record, pulling down 15 boards to break the old mark of 939 set by men's player Roger Sander from 1974-78. Yeast's career mark stands at 952 with five regular season games remaining. Melissa Gorski posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Elise Waldorf added 14 and Tanesha Hughes chipped in with 12.

Jan. 26, 2008 vs. Beloit College at Monmouth, Ill.
Beloit 72, Monmouth 59 (9-8, 5-5)
In a tale of two halves, Beloit wrote the final chapter in a 72-59 win over Monmouth at Glennie Gym. Beloit ended the story with an exclamation point, making 10-of-11 free throws down the stretch to hold off a stubborn Monmouth squad. The Scots looked nearly unbeatable in the first half and ran out to a 13-point lead, 30-17, on Melissa Gorski's conventional three-point-play. The Bucs wouldn't go away and trimmed the Scots lead to 35-33 at the break. A see-saw second half took a turn for the worse for Monmouth when Beloit took the lead on two Mary Parker free throws with 13:48 remaining. Gorski was at it again with another old-fashioned three-point-play and closed the gap to 48-47 at the 9:25 mark. But that would be as close as the Scots would get. Ashley Yeast posted her fourth consecutive double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She is three boards away from becoming the college's all-time leading rebounder - men or women. Lynsey Barnard added 13 and Elise Waldorf chipped in with 11.

Jan. 25, 2008 vs. St. Norbert College at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 70, St. Norbert 59 (9-7, 5-4)
Six years to the day after Monmouth's last win over St. Norbert, the Scots did it again, downing the Green Knights 70-59 at Glennie Gym. The win in 2002 also came in Monmouth. The Scots held the Knights scoreless for nearly four minutes at the start of the game and surrendered the lead just four times, not allowing St. Norbert a lead larger than four points. Elise Waldorf's jumper just before the buzzer gave Monmouth a 31-23 halftime advantage. The Scots never trailed in the second half. Melissa Gorski twice gave Monmouth their largest leads at 14, the last coming on one of her eight free throws to put Monmouth up 54-40 with 5:29 left. Gorski posted a game-high 20 points, Ashley Yeast collected her third straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Waldorf and Katie Sheets added 12 each. Yeast needs just 13 more rebounds to surpass Roger Sander as the college's all-time rebounding champion. Sander collected 939 boards from 1974-78.

Jan. 19, 2008 vs. Ripon College at Ripon, Wis.
Monmouth 60, Ripon 46 (8-7, 4-4)
The Fighting Scots got back on the winning track with a 60-46 win over Ripon. Monmouth lead from start to finish thanks in part to 64-percent shooting in the first half. The Scots' offense cooled in the second half, but Ripon was not able to get closer than eight points in the second half. Ashley Yeast posted her second double-double of the weekend with 25 points and 11 rebounds, Elise Waldorf added 19.

Jan. 18, 2008 vs. Beloit College at Beloit, Wis.
Beloit 56, Monmouth 54 (7-7, 3-4)
The game was as good as advertised with neither team able to command a double-digit lead in Beloit's 56-54 win over Monmouth. With the score tied at 20-20 at halftime, the teams traded the lead through the first 11 minutes before Beloit was able to take the lead for good when Mary Parker's layup gave the Bucs the lead 38-36. Trailing by four with 12 seconds left, Elise Waldorf's jumper made it a one possession game, but Parker nailed two free throws with eight seconds remaining to ice the game. Waldorf scored a team-high 13 points, Ashley Yeast posted a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds and Tanesha Hughes added 10 points. Beloit stays in fourth place in the Midwest Conference, a game ahead of Monmouth in the standings.

Jan. 15, 2008 vs. Knox College at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 78, Knox 48 (7-6, 3-3)
The Fighting Scots found a cure for their losing streak in a 78-48 win over Knox College. Monmouth trailed just once in the game and lead by as much as 42 points in evening their conference mark at 3-3. Nearly everyone played for Monmouth who opened a 45-18 halftime lead. Ashley Yeast led the Scots with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Elise Waldorf added 14 and Katie Sheets came off the bench to add 13. Monmouth's defense held Knox to just 27-percent shooting while forcing 29 Fire turnovers on 19 steals.

Jan. 12, 2008 vs. Illinois College at Jacksonville, Ill.
Illinois College 88, Monmouth 77 (6-6, 2-3)
A furious second half rally by the Scots was for naught as the Lady Blues poured it on in overtime to hand Monmouth their fourth straight loss, 88-77. The Scots trailed 35-22 at halftime, but came storming back in the second half and took a 48-46 lead on Alison Andrews' jumper with 10:41 remaining in regulation. Elise Waldorf gave Monmouth their biggest lead of the day when her bucket put the Scots up 60-51 with just under four minutes to play. The Lady Blues trimmed it to 69-68 with less than five seconds left, but Melissa Gorski, who scored a game-high 22 points, nailed two free throws with two seconds on the clock  to force Illinois College to hit a 3-pointer. IC's Carrie Walberg obliged, forcing overtime. Illinois College jumped out to a four point lead early in the overtime period to give the Scots the loss. Lynsey Barnard added 15 points, Tanesha Hughes added 13 and Waldorf collected 10.

Jan. 8, 2008 vs. Lake Forest at Monmouth, Ill.
Lake Forest 81, Monmouth 51 (6-5, 2-2)
Monmouth had a tough time with a stifling Lake Forest defense, shooting just 35-percent from the floor, and fell to the Foresters 81-51. After the Scots hit the first bucket of the night it was all Foresters. Hampered by cold shooting, Monmouth trailed 40-23 at the half. The Scots commanded the boards, outrebounding the Foresters 41-35 and scoring 17 second chance points. Tanesha Hughes led the Scots with a game-high 18 points and Ashley Yeast posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Dec. 31, 2007 vs. Occidental College at Orange, Calif.
Occidental 68, Monmouth 55 (6-4)
Monmouth never led in a 68-55 loss to Occidental in California. The Tigers took the early lead and built a 42-25 halftime advantage in handing the Scots their second loss at the Chapman Tournament. Turnovers again plagued the Scots. Occidental converted Monmouth's 25 turnovers into 30 points. Ashley Yeast led the Scots with a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds, Lynsey Barnard poured in 13 and Melissa Gorski pulled down 10 rebounds. Yeast was named to the All-Tournament team.   

Dec. 30, 2007 vs. Chapman University at Orange, Calif.
Chapman 68, Monmouth 54 (6-3)
The Scots' Ashley Yeast posted a double-double but it wasn't enough as Monmouth fell to Chapman 68-54. Turnovers and poor free throw shooting doomed the Scots who led 33-30 at halftime. The Scots hit just 55-percent from the line and turned the ball over 33 times. The Scots kept the game close throughout the first half and took a six-point lead, their largest lead of the night, on a Katie Sheets free throw with 20 seconds left in the half. A Melissa Gorski jumper with 15 minutes left in the game gave the Scots their final lead at 39-37. The Panthers then hit 12 of 13 free throws in the final 10 minutes to seal the win. Gorski, who finished with 11 points, saw her consecutive free throw streak end at 16 when her first attempt against he Panthers missed the mark. Yeast led the Scots with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Sheets added 11.

Dec. 12, 2007 vs. Eureka College at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 62, Eureka 43 (6-2)
Monmouth fought off a poor shooting night and the Eureka Red Devils to improve to 6-2 with a 62-43 win at Glennie Gym. The Scots hit just 33-percent of their shots, but that was enough as Monmouth went on a 7-0 run to close out the first half leading 31-24. Monmouth kept the pressure on defensively in the second half and opened up a double-digit lead in the first six minutes to coast to their fourth straight win. Katie Sheets came off the bench to hit half of her shots and lead the Scots with 14 points. Melissa Gorski posted her third consecutive double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Dec. 7, 2007 vs. Augustana College at Rock Island, Ill.
Monmouth 74, Augustana 48 (5-2)
Monmouth used a stingy defense and a late first half run to pick up a 74-48 road win at Augustana. Melissa Gorski scored seven of her game-high 22 points in the final 5:35 of the first half to help the Scots post a 15-0 run to enter the locker rooms with a 34-15 lead at intermission. Monmouth maintained a 20-point margin throughout the second half and held the Vikings in check. Gorski pulled down 12 rebounds to post her second double-double in as many games. Katie Sheets added 14 points, Ashley Yeast's 12 points and Elise Waldorf's 10 points rounded out the Scots' double-digit scorers. Monmouth held Augustana to under 30-percent shooting while creating 24 Viking turnovers. The Scots' 5-2 start is the best seven-game start since the 1995-96 squad opened the season 6-1.

Dec. 5, 2007 vs. Grinnell College at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 83, Grinnell 64 (4-2)
Despite a double-double from Melissa Gorski and Ashley Yeast the Scots' win was a lot closer than the final score indicated. Monmouth's 83-64 win over Grinnell began auspiciously enough for the Scots who scored at will early, but a Grinnell timeout with the Scots leading 9-0 sparked the Pioneers who finally took the lead with 5:33 left in the first half. The Scots were able to pull away down the stretch and regained their double-digit lead on Gorski's 3-pointer with 5:38 left in the game. Gorski led all scorers with 22 points and 13 rebounds, Yeast collected 15 points and 10 rebounds, Elise Waldorf poured in 16 and Katie Sheets added 11.

Dec. 1, 2007 vs. Lawrence University at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 75, Lawrence 70 (OT) (3-2)
With two of their starters fouling out, it may not have looked good for Monmouth, but the Scots pulled out a 75-70 win over Lawrence in overtime. The Scots struggled in the first half and found themselves trailing 37-27 at the break. Monmouth chipped away in the second half and took their first lead of the game, 49-47, on Katie Sheets' 3-pointer with nine minutes left. By the time Tanesha Hughes and Ashley Yeast had picked up their fifth fouls, the Vikings had tied the game at 58-58. Lynsey Barnard's jumper in the lane with one minute left gave the Scots a 65-63. The Vikings then took advantage of a pair of missed free throws and forced overtime on Carrie Van Groll's basket with six second left. The Scots made their free throws in the extra period when Alison Andrews drained a pair to give the Scots a 73-68 lead with 27 seconds left. Melissa Gorski then clinched the win with two free throws to give the Scots the final margin. Sheets led the Scots with 21 points, Gorski added 12, Barnard 10 and Elise Waldorf collected a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Despite fouling out, Yeast set the women's career rebound record, pulling down 16 boards to put her career mark at 819, breaking the old record of 809 set by Penny Rowan from 1988-92.

Nov. 30, 2007 vs. Carroll College at Monmouth, Ill.
Carroll 59, Monmouth 49 (2-2)
In a reversal of the pattern of previous games, Monmouth started slowly, but turned it on in the second half of a 59-49 loss to Carroll. Trailing 37-21 at halftime, coach Melissa Jones must have made an inspirational speech as the Scots chipped away before falling in their conference opener. Monmouth went on a 10-0 run to finish strong, going 4-for-6 from the field in the final 2:38. Elise Waldorf led the Scots with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Ashley Yeast turned it on in the second half, pulling down eight of her game-high 11 rebounds and scoring 12 of her 14 points after intermission.

Nov. 25, 2007 vs. Wartburg College at Monmouth, Ill.
Wartburg 74, Monmouth 63 (2-1)
For the second straight game, Monmouth got off to a blistering start, but sputtered in the second half in a 74-63 loss to Wartburg. The Scots could do no wrong in the opening half, jumping out to a 20 point while hitting an astronomical 78-percent from three point range, and 62-percent from the field but faltered to just 21-percent shooting in the second half. The Knights took advantage of the Scots second half shooting woes and chipped away after intermission. Wartburg took the lead with seven minutes remaining and never looked back. Monmouth used a 10-0 run early in the first half to build the lead, but Wartburg countered with their own 10-0 run late in the game. The Scots had five players in double figures. Melissa Gorski led with 17 points, Katie Sheets added 12 on four treys, Lynsey Barnard, Elise Waldorf and Tanesha Hughes added 10 each.

Nov. 24, 2007 vs. Rockford College at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 68, Rockford 46 (2-0)
The Fighting Scots got off to a good start at the Pizza Hut/County Market Classic, downing Rockford College 68-46. The Scots, who led by as many as 17 point sin the first half struggled starting the second half and saw their 36-23 halftime lead shrink to 4 with 14 minutes remaining. Monmouth then pulled away, thanks in part to a 14-2 run. Elise Waldorf led Monmouth with 28 points and Katie Sheets hit four treys to total 16 points.

Nov. 17, 2007 at Cornell College at Mt. Vernon, Iowa
Monmouth 70, Cornell 67
The Fighting Scots ripped off six unanswered points to start the game and built an 11 point lead at halftime before surviving a Rams second half comeback to preserve a 70-67 season-opening win. After the Scots controlled the first half, the Rams chipped away and took their first lead of the game at the 17:16 mark on a Val Marean trey. Neither team was able to build a lead larger than six points the rest of the way. After an Ashley Yeast layup produced the game's seventh tie, Elise Waldorf put the Scots up for good with a jumper to give Monmouth a 66-64 lead with 1:24 remaining. With the Scots leading 69-67 with four seconds left, a foul by the Ram's Brianna Wallace sent Melissa Gorski to the line with a chance to ice the game. After her first free throw missed the mark, Gorski hit the second to give Monmouth a 70-67 lead and the Scots held on when Wallace's desperation three missed. Gorski led all scorers with 21 points, Waldorf added 18. Yeast continued her assault on the rebounding record pulling down a game-high 13.