Women’s Basketball losing streak extends to 11

The Lawrence women’s basketball team traveled to Monmouth College this past weekend looking for their first win of the season. The trip was part of a busy schedule for the Vikings. It was their third game in seven days and third game in a stretch that sees them play four games in just eleven days.

Right from the tip, it was clear that the Monmouth Fighting Scots wanted to get off to fast start and applied full court pressure on the Vikings. The strategy worked well as they forced the Vikings to commit turnovers on three of their first four possessions. Monmouth dominated possession early in the game with offensive rebounds and with the help of some good shooting jumped out to a 32-8 lead about 10 minutes into the game. Monmouth continued their hot shooting for the rest of the first half and built a 47-19 lead going into the half. The Scots made 53% of their field goals in the first half.

“Monmouth’s pressure early in the game caused us to turn the ball over before reaching half court,” commented Viking’s freshman guard Natalie Kramer. “They came into the game with more energy and confidence which helped them make more of their shots.”

The Scots continued their offensive dominance in the second half by getting many players involved on offense. They shot 62% in the second half and cruised to victory with a final score of 96-41.

Monmouth had five scorers in double figures and were led by Kelsey Walsberg who had 15 points. They committed only nine turnovers in the game.

A bright spot for the Vikings was freshman Olivia Hoesley who set a career high in points with 13 and also connected on three three-point attempts. Other notable performances included Kassidy Rinehart with eight rebounds and freshman Elizabeth Arco who contributed seven points and seven rebounds.

The loss dropped the Vikings to 0-11 on the season and 0-7 in conference.

“We need to come into games with more energy and play as one unit,” said Kramer.

Speaking of team goals going into the rest of the season, Kramer continued, “We don’t have specific goals regarding wins or losses. Our goals are to compete with every team we play and to play with confidence.”

The Viking’s next game is Saturday, January 17th when they host the visiting Rams of Cornell College at 3pm in another Midwest Conference matchup.