Monmouth used their best defensive effort of the season coupled with a Beloit win over St. Norbert to clinch their first Midwest Conference Tournament berth since 2014 with a 56-48 win over Knox Tuesday night at Glennie Gym.
 
Neither team led by more than nine points, but the Scots pulled away with a 20-9 advantage in the fourth quarter to improve to 12-3 in the MWC. Trailing 39-36 in the final period, the Scots' hole increased to five with 6:30 left before two free throws by Shayne Smith and Smith jumper closed the gap. Becca Gallis followed with a 3-pointer at the 4:01 mark to briefly give Monmouth the lead. The Prairie Fire answered with a Jarrelyn McCall 3-ball but Yvonne Ornelas countered with her own shot from beyond the arc to give the Scots the lead for good with 2:21 left. A pair of Ornelas free throws with 29 seconds left made it a three-possession game at 54-46. The Scots held on, holding Knox to just one bucket in the final 29 seconds.
 
Carley Turnbull paced the Scots with a 17-pointnihgt while Gallis added 13 and Smith 11. Ornelas finished with eight points while dishing out a game-high five assists.
 
Monmouth travels to league-leading Ripon Saturday trailing the Red Hawks by a single game. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.