Osmulski, Morgan Lead Scots Past Rams

Monmouth on brink of clinching MWC Tournament berth

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (02/16/2022) — The Monmouth College women's basketball team finished their home schedule with a 55-50 win over the Cornell Rams on Tuesday night. The win keeps the Scots (13-7, 10-4) in second place in the Midwest Conference and gives them a chance to clinch a spot in the MWC tournament on Friday.

The Scots got things going early with buckets from Jordan Kintigh (Goshen, Indiana) and Zoie Wall (Peoria, Illinois). Kaitlyn Osmulski (Peoria, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer to put Monmouth on top 9-2. Josie Morgan (Washington, Illinois) had a pair of first-quarter layups and Wall banked in a runner to beat the shot clock for a 15-5 Monmouth lead. Cornell scored at the buzzer to end the first quarter down 15-9.

Jadyn MItchell (Flanagan, Illinois) made a 3-pointer to end the Rams mini-run but the visitors answered with a pair of 3-pointers. Monmouth called timeout, leading 18-15 and Lily Harlan (Washington, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer.

Osmulski made a 3-pointer for a 24-17 lead and then she connected on the Scots first non 3-pointer of the quarter with a runner in the lane. The Scots didn't score the rest of the half and the Rams put six straight on the board for a 26-23 contest at the break.

Cornell tied the game with a 3-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter. Kintigh split free throws for a 27-26 lead and then made a jumper inside the free throw line on the next possession. Wall made a runner for a 31-26 lead before Cornell ended the run with a fast-break bucket.

The Scots lead 31-30 as the teams traded turnovers and missed shots. Harlan hit a 3-pointer from the wing for a 34-30 Monmouth lead. Cornell hit a 3-pointer on either side of Wall's layup and the game was tied at 36 with 1:00 to play in the quarter. Monmouth ran a play for Morgan off an in-bounds play and she buried a corner 3-pointer for the lead but the Rams answered to end the quarter with the game tied at 39.

Osmulski got a steal on the first Cornell possession of the quarter and Morgan beat everyone down court for a layup. The Rams split free throws, then hit a 3-pointer for their first lead of the night at 43-41. Harlan put the Scots back up with a top of the key 3-pointer before the Rams got a bucket inside to go back on top 45-44.

Morgan hit a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Scots a 47-45 lead and Cornell called timeout with 3:20 to play. Harlan got a steal on the next Cornell possession and Osmulski nailed a 3-pointer for a 50-45 Monmouth lead. After Cornell scored, Osmulski swished a 3-pointer for a 53-47 lead. After a foul call on a loose ball rebound, the Rams hit a 3-pointer to cut the Scots lead to 53-50 with 21.8 seconds left. The Rams fouled Morgan and she split free throws for a 54-50 lead. The Rams missed a layup and Osmulski was fouled after grabbing the rebound. She made a free throw and the clock ran out on Cornell with Monmouth winning by five.

Osmulski led the Scots with 15 points while Morgan had 13. Harlan had nine points off the bench and Wall finished with eight. Wall led the team with nine rebounds while Morgan had six assists.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Osmulski was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and now has 109 career makes, sixth on the Scots career listMorgan is tied for 13th on the Scots single-season 3PM list with 46Kintigh went over 500 career reboundsAt 10-4 the Scots are in second place, behind 12-1 Ripon who has clinched at least a share of the MWC titleKnox is 10-5 with a home game against Ripon on SaturdayIllinois College sits in the fourth and final tournament spot at 7-6They host Cornell on Thursday before playing at Lawrence and Grinnell this weekendCornell is now 6-6 with Lawrence at 5-5 and Grinnell is alive for the final spot at 8-8The loser of the IC/Cornell game cannot catch the Scots or Knox in the standings...Monmouth has the tiebreaker against IC but split with both Knox and CornellThe final two games are on the road, rescheduled from JanuaryMonmouth plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Ripon and at 2 p.m. Sunday at LawrenceA win in either game clinches a tournament spot for the Scots, who can also clinch in a variety of scenarios involving other teams losing this week.