Furious Rally Falls Short for Scots at Cornell

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (01/15/2025) — The Monmouth College women's basketball team rallied from 25 points down and cut the deficit to four in the final minute but ultimately lost 61-55 at Cornell on Tuesday. The Fighting Scots (4-11, 1-5) return home this weekend to host Ripon.

Kynlee Stearns (Gilson, Illinois) scored Monmouth's first points at the free throw line, tying the game at 2-2. Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer for a 5-4 lead but Cornell scored the next eight points. Madi Finch (Aledo, Illinois) and Goodrich scored but Cornell led 22-10 after the opening quarter.

The Rams pushed the lead to 18 before Kiersten Cox (Illinois City, Illinois).scored and Averi Rangel (Moline, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer. Cox scored four of the next five points and Rangel added a jumper for a 38-23 game at halftime.

Goodrich scored Monmouth's first points of the second half but Cornell went on a 10-0 run to lead 50-25. Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) ended the run with a 3-pointer and Stearns made a layup. Jones scored again to cut the Rams lead to 54-32 at the end of the quarter.

Brooklyn Sellers (Freeport, Illinois) got the fourth quarter going with a free throw and Rangel made a jumper. Goodrich scored four points in a row and Stearns turned a steal into a layup for a 10-0 run. Jones kept the run going with a bucket and added a free throw to get the deficit into single digits. Cornell scored for the first time in the quarter at the 3:56 mark to take a 56-45 lead. Stearns made a layup but the Rams hit a 3-pointer to lead by 12 with 3:21 left. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes and ended the drought, Jones completed a 3-point play for a 59-52 game with 1:04 to go. Her 3-pointer cut the deficit to four with 17 seconds left but the Rams knocked down two free throws to finish off the game.

Jones led the Scots with 14 points while Goodrich had 12 and Stearns added 10. Cox led Monmouth with nine rebounds while Goodrich had five assists. Jones had four steals to lead the team.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Jones has scored in double figures 11 times this season ... She scored nine points in the fourth quarterStearns and Goodrich have both scored in double figures six times this season ... The Scots won the rebound battle 35-30 and both teams had 19 turnovers ... The Scots were 10-for-19 at the free throw line ... Monmouth won the fourth quarter 23-7 /// Monmouth went 0-7 on their 7-game road trip ... Cornell leads the all-time series 38-32 with four straight wins ... Monmouth's last win in Mount Vernon was on Jan. 31, 2019 ... The teams meet again on Feb. 19 in Glennie Gym ... The Scots play at home on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against Ripon.