There's now a logjam for the top spot in the Midwest Conference after Monmouth suffered their first league loss Tuesday night, 51-47 at Knox.
 
The Prairie Fire made good use of a 41-25 rebounding advantage to score 25 second chance points, dropping the Scots into a three-way tie for the top spot in the league at 6-1 with Ripon and Lake Forest.
 
Neither team led by more than six in the game as Monmouth held a 25-24 halftime lead and upped the margin to two at 37-35 at the end of three quarters when Becca Gallis drained two free throws for the final points in the frame. Gallis followed with an opening bucket in the fourth quarter and Kaitlyn Osmulski added a jumper for a 41-35 lead, the biggest of the night by either team.
 
Knox countered with a pair of free throws and cut the Monmouth led to one at 41-40 on a 3-pointer with 5:17 left. The Fire inched ahead two minutes later and moved the margin to four at 47-43 on a bucket-and-one with 2:02 remaining. Gallis pulled Monmouth within two on their ensuing possession and then knotted the game at 47-all with 1:10 left. The Fire took the lead for good on their next possession with a put-back and held on in the final seconds with a pair of free throws.
 
Gallis, who finished with 11 points was joined in double figures by Shayne Smith (14) and Osmulski (10).
 
Monmouth hosts Beloit Saturday in a 1 p.m. contest at Glennie Gym.