1998-99 Women's Basketball --
Results and Game Summaries
11/20/98 vs. Carthage at Carthage Tournament 49-60 (0-1) Monmouth dropped its season opener on the road to Carthage College in the first round of the Lady Reds' tournament. The first-game jitters showed as the Fighting Scots suffered from poor shooting, hitting only 31% from the floor. Senior Karen Valentas was the only Monmouth player in double figures, scoring 10 points. The Scots trailed at halftime 26-20 and could not cut into the Carthage lead in the second period.
11/21/98 vs. Cardinal Stritch at Carthage Tournament 53-57 (0-2) The Scots dropped the consolation game at Carthage, falling to 0-2 on the season, after a horrible first half. Cardinal Stritch led 25-17 at the break, Monmouth hitting only 7 of 34 shots in the first 20 minutes. The Scots rebounded to outscore the Crusaders 36-32 in the second half but it wasn't enough for the win. Sophomore Amber Kuhrts connected for 14 points to pace the Scots and senior Christy Keller grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
11/28/98 vs. William Penn [Pizza Hut-Giant Foods Classic] 66-65 (1-2) Monmouth won a nailbiter in its home opener of the 1998-99 season with a one-point decision over IIAC opponent William Penn. The Scots trailed 35-33 at the break but the game was a tight affair throughout as the two teams traded leads in the second half. After a 54-54 tie with 5:00 remaining William Penn went on a 9-6 run but Monmouth tied the score again at 63 on two free throws by senior Christy Keller with 1:15 left. The Scots took a brief two-point lead on the next possession but Penn tied the score with 15 seconds on the clock. A foul on the inbounds play put junior Angie Myers on the free throw line and Myers calmly sank one of two shots to seal the win. Center Karen Valentas led the Scots with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Erin Bradshaw came off the bench to score 12 points and junior Julia Ross grabbed 8 rebounds.
11/29/98 vs. Aurora [Pizza Hut-Giant Foods Classic] 74-65 (2-2) Monmouth drew even on the season with a nine-point win over Aurora to sweep their home doubleheader. The Scots took command early and jumped to a 36-22 halftime advantage as Karen Valentas scored 12 of her game-high 28 points. Monmouth led by as many as 17 points before the Spartans put on a late second-half rally to pull within nine with 1:20 left. Two free throws by guard Angie Myers secured the victory in the final minute. Senior Kari Walters scored 9 points and collected 9 rebounds as nine different players scored for Monmouth in a balanced team effort.
12/02/98 at Lake Forest 60-68 (2-3, 0-1) The Fighting Scots dropped their conference opener on the road at Lake Forest, falling to the defending South Division champions by eight points. Monmouth trailed only by one at the break (30-29) but could not get over the hump against the Foresters, a team which beat Monmouth twice in the regular season last year for two of the Scots' three league losses. Senior guard Kari Walters (12) and center Karen Valentas (10) were the only players in double-figure points for the Scots, who were only 5-for-15 from the free-throw stripe. Monmouth was outrebounded for the first time all season, LFC getting a 48-42 advantage on the boards.
12/05/98 vs. Knox 68-53 (3-3, 1-1) The Fighting Scots evened their Midwest Conference record with a decisive win over arch-rival Knox at Glennie Gymnasium in front of a loud and raucous afternoon crowd. Monmouth and Knox traded leads through the first 20 minutes, the Scots holding a three-point lead at halftime (27-24). Monmouth began to pull away midway through the second period and increased its lead to the final 15-point margin over the last five minutes. Valentas again paced the Scots with her second double-double performance of the week, combining a team-high 17 points with 13 rebounds. Sophomore Amber Kuhrts rode a hot early hand to a season-best 12 points and senior Christy Keller added 10 rebounds for Monmouth, who dominated the boards with a 63-32 advantage over the Prairie Fire.
12/08/98 vs. MacMurray 61-59 (4-3) Monmouth survived a last-second game-tying shot attempt to squeak out a non-conference home win over MacMurray at Glennie Gym. The Fighting Scots suffered through a horrible first half, making only 8 of 34 shots, but rebounded to shoot 63% (17-of-27) and made all four of their three-point attempts in the second half to overcome a 22-19 halftime deficit. Carla Sweet led the way with 15 points off the bench as the freshman guard scored 13 in the second half, including seven points in a 9-4 Monmouth run in the final minutes. Senior Kari Walters added ten points for the Scots and Karen Valentas and Christy Keller each scored seven points and collected seven rebounds.
12/12/98 at Eureka 70-62 (5-3) The Fighting Scots won their third straight game and notched their second consecutive non-conference victory, winning at Eureka by eight points. The Red Devils held a slim one-point lead at the break (29-28) but Monmouth outscored the hosts 42-33 to pull away in the second half. Senior guard Kari Walters lit up the Devils for a season-best 23 points, including 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Center Karen Valentas added 10 points and freshman Sara Larkin chipped in 9 points and grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds.
01/08/99 vs. Grinnell 72-49 (6-3, 2-1)
01/09/99 vs. Lake Forest 65-68 (6-4, 2-2) The women split a pair of MWC games at home this weekend, dominating Grinnell on Friday night before coming within three points of upsetting conference leader Lake Forest. The Scots cleared the bench against Grinnell as all 16 players saw action and 13 different players scored. Seniors Kari Walters (13) and Karen Valentas (12) were the only Scots in double figures. Monmouth led 35-16 at halftime and extended its lead throughout the second period. Saturday's game with the Foresters marked the second time in a month the two teams had faced each other and LFC again managed to come out on top. Monmouth took its first lead at 30-28 late in the first half but Lake Forest rallied to lead 42-37 at the break. The game was tied at 48 and again at 54 before LFC put on a short 12-7 run. Monmouth had two shots to tie in the final ten seconds but could not find the mark on either three-point attempt. Walters paced the offense with 19 points and Valentas added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
01/15/99 at Ripon 50-52 (6-5, 2-3)
01/16/99 at St. Norbert 59-68 (6-6, 2-4) The Monmouth women's team lost a pair of critical MWC games in Wisconsin as the Scots were tripped up at Ripon and St. Norbert over the weekend. The women could not put away Ripon, whom they defeated twice last year including a victory over the Hawks in the MWC tournament. Monmouth led 36-17 at halftime but could only manage 14 second-half points as Ripon earned the come-from-behind win. Amber Kuhrts (11) and Karen Valentas (10) hit for double figures but the team shot a dismal 27% from the floor, including a 1-of-9 effort from the three-point line. Monmouth also missed 15 of 26 foul shots.
Cold shooting proved to be the team's downfall again on Saturday. Monmouth led for only 15 seconds the entire game at 14-13 but trailed only by three points at halftime. With Monmouth behind 53-50 with 4:30 remaining in the game, the Green Knights were able to put on a 13-4 scoring run over the next three minutes to seal the victory. The Scots missed all five three-point attempts and suffered from 38% floor shooting for the game. Guards Angie Myers (12 points, 6 assists) and Kari Walters (10 points) paced the scoring and Valentas grabbed 14 rebounds.
01/23/99 vs. Carroll 81-72 (7-6, 3-4)
01/24/99 vs. Lawrence 72-79 (7-7, 3-5) Monmouth defeated Carroll by nine points on Friday night in MWC action but had to settle for a split on the weekend as the Scots fell to Lawrence on Saturday at Glennie Gymnasium. The results drop Monmouth to 3-5 in the conference and even the team's season record at 7-7.
Monmouth appeared to have the early game under control as the Scots built a 12-point lead in the first 10 minutes but Carroll cut the lead to nine by halftime. The Pioneers continued to chip away and actually led briefly at 54-53 with 10:20 remaining in the second period. Monmouth was able to regroup and quickly regained a six-point lead in the next few minutes. Kari Walters led all scorers with 19 points and Karen Valentas added 15.
Saturday's game against Lawrence saw several ties and lead changes as the two squads played evenly throughout the entire contest. Neither team led by more than five points and Monmouth held a 38-37 lead at the break. The Vikings took the lead for good early in the second half but the Scots would not quit. A three-pointer by Walters tied the score at 64-64 at 6:16 but Lawrence scored the next eight points to quash the rally. LU made seven of eight free throws down the stretch to ice the victory. Valentas scored 14 points for Monmouth and Christy Keller chipped in 11 points.
01/26/99 at Illinois 65-67 (7-8, 3-6) The Fighting Scots dropped another close league game to fall to 3-6 in Midwest Conference action, this time a two-point road loss to Illinois in Jacksonville. It was a close game throughout, Illinois holding a slim 31-29 lead at the break. The second half was even with neither team gaining a large lead. Monmouth trailed 63-55 with three minutes remaining but rallied to tie the score at 65-65 with 15 seconds left. IC hit two foul shots in the final ten seconds and a game-tying shot attempt by Monmouth fell short to give the Scots their third league loss by three points or less. Senior Karen Valentas led all scorers with 17 points and Angie Myers chipped in 11. Valentas and Christy Keller each collected 9 rebounds.
01/29/99 at Beloit 65-61 (8-8, 4-6)
01/30/99 at Carroll 72-78 (8-9, 4-7) The Monmouth women split a pair of MWC games in Wisconsin over the weekend. Monmouth won an evenly-matched game against Beloit by four on Friday night and then lost at Carroll on Saturday. Sophomore Amber Kuhrts led three Monmouth players in double figures with 15 points against the Bucs. Julia Ross came off the bench to spark the defense with three blocked shots and ten rebounds. Senior Karen Valentas paced the Fighting Scots with 19 points at Carroll on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor but Monmouth could not overcome a 44-33 halftime deficit. Christy Keller added 11 pooints and Ross again led the Scot charge on the boards with 7 rebounds.
02/05/99 vs. St. Norbert 65-47 (9-9, 5-7)
02/06/99 vs. Ripon 74-69 (10-9, 6-7) Monmouth stayed in the chase for a second consecutive MWC postseason appearance with two critical victories at home. The women pulled off wins over St. Norbert and Ripon after losing to both squads two weeks ago. Monmouth jumped out to an early lead against the Green Knights on Friday and never looked back, opening up an eight-point advantage at intermission. St. Norbert suffered from poor shooting and the Scots forced 26 SNC turnovers to limit Norbert to only 22 second-half points. Erin Bradshaw's 17 points led Monmouth scorers and Amber Kuhrts chipped in 12 as ten different players scored for MC.
The Fighting Scots also came out firing on Saturday against Ripon, putting 50 points on the board before halftime. Despite making only seven shots in the second half, Monmouth was able to stave off a Red Hawk comeback with solid defense and rebounding. The Scots had five players with five or more boards and held a 54-47 advantage on the glass. MC was paced on the offensive end by Kuhrts and Kari Walters, who shared scoring honors with 17 points apiece.
02/10/99 at Grinnell 76-60 (11-9, 7-7) The Monmouth women's basketball team inched closer to the MWC tournament with their third straight conference victory, beating Grinnell on the road to even their league mark at 7-7 with two games left on the schedule. The Fighting Scots held a 44-36 cushion at halftime and kept the pressure on the Pioneers through the second period, forcing 25 Grinnell turnovers while hitting on 45% of their shots. Karen Valentas led all players with 26 points and Kari Walters added 25, the first time this season that Monmouth had two women score over 20 in the same game. Monmouth still needs to defeat Illinois College in their final home game on Wednesday and Knox in Galesburg next Saturday to have a shot at making the postseason field.
02/17/99 vs. Illinois 59-69 (11-10, 7-8) The women's team saw its late-season run to the MWC tournament come to a disappointing end as the Fighting Scots dropped a ten-point decision to IC at home. The loss eliminated Monmouth from the Midwest Conference tournament race and secured the fourth spot for Illinois. The Lady Blues controlled the first half, opening up a 13-point lead late in the period. Monmouth clawed and scratched back into the game and actually took the lead for the first time with 7:30 remaining. MC led by five (54-49) after an 8-0 spurt but Illinois went on a14-2 run of their own to pull away. The Lady Blues converted their chances at the free-throw line and Monmouth missed several three-point attempts in the final minutes as IC built an insurmountable advantage. Monmouth was led by senior Karen Valentas' 14 points and Amber Kuhrts scored 12. Senior Christy Keller had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Monmouth, which finishes the season next Saturday at Knox.
02/20/99 at Knox 77-54 (12-10, 8-8) The Monmouth women's basketball team ended its season with a thorough drubbing of arch-rival Knox College in Galesburg. The Scots evened their MWC mark at 8-8 and finished at 12-10, two games over the .500 mark. It marked the final game for six departing players, three of them four-year starters for MC. Seniors Karen Valentas and Kari Walters went out in style, sharing team-high scoring honors with 19 points. Christy Keller added 9 points and 8 rebounds. Monmouth pulled away early in the first half and built a commanding 38-20 lead over the Prairie Fire by halftime. The Scots shot 48% for the game and increased their lead to as much as 30 points in the second half. Walters hit a season-high four three-pointers from the perimeter and Valentas snared 12 rebounds, eight of them on the defensive end as Monmouth outrebounded the Fire 46-35 for the game.