Jones Nets 21 but Scots Fall at Knox

Sellers Grabs Career-High Nine Rebounds

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (02/01/2025) — The Monmouth College women's basketball team couldn't keep up with Knox in the second half on Saturday, falling 81-53 The Fighting Scots (5-15, 2-9) are back home on Wednesday and four of the final five games of the regular season will be at Glennie Gym.

Ashley Jones (Abingdon, Illinois) made a layup on Monmouth's first possession and Delaney Scheidenhelm (New Berlin, Illinois) gave the Scots a 4-1 lead with a jumper. Knox answered with a 7-0 run, Jones scored again before Knox hit a 3-pointer and extended to a 15-6 lead. Brooklyn Sellers (Freeport, Illinois) cut the lead to six and Ella Goodrich (Minonk, Illinois) made two free throws. Jones scored again but Knox responded to lead 19-12 after the opening quarter.

Goodrich answered a Knox basket to start the second quarter. Knox extended to a 12-point lead before Averi Rangel (Moline, Illinois) got a bucket. Both teams were held without points for more than three minutes before Madi Finch (Aledo, Illinois) hit a jumper. Sellers scored in the paint and Allie Hoy (Woodland, Illinois) hit two free throws to pull Monmouth within eight, Jones added a pair of free throws and Sellers scored at the rim. Knox ran the lead back to nine at halftime, 35-26.

Knox started the second half on a 14-0 run to lead 49-26 before Kynlee Stearns (Gilson, Illinois) made a layup. Goodrich made a free throw and Scheidenhelm made two at the line. Hoy got a steal and a layup, cutting the Knox lead to 18. Knox scored four in a row before Scheidenhelm scored in the paint. The Prairie Fire finished the quarter on a 10-1 run to lead 65-36.

Jones scored Monmouth's first five points of the fourth quarter but Knox pushed the lead to 31 at 72-41. Jones scored another five points but Knox answered to lead 77-46. Ava Borchardt (Harvard, Illinois) made a free throw with 1:11 remaining. Jones scored in the final minute and Goodrich added a bucket with 34 seconds to play. Borchardt scored on a putback for the final Monmouth points of the game as Knox won 81-53.

Jones led the Scots with 21 points while Sellers had nine rebounds.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Jones has scored in double figures 16 times this season, including seven straight games ... She has scored at least 20 in four games ... Jones scored 12 points in the fourth quarter ... Sellers had a career-high nine rebounds ... Borchardt went to the free-throw line for the first time in her college career, splitting the two attempts ... Monmouth leads the all-time series 62-43 but Knox is 7-3 in the last 10 ... Knox has won five straight in the series dating back to the 2022 MWC Tournament when the Scots won 57-48 in Ripon ... The teams meet again in Monmouth on Feb. 11 ... The Scots are home on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Illinois College.