The Monmouth College women's basketball team (1-1) picked up their first win of the season as Saturday's home opener finished in a 73-56 win over Buena Vista. The victory not only served as the first win of the season but also the first for new head coach Megan Jones.
 
"We talked about playing our game today, rebounding the ball and that was part of the game plan," said Jones. "We locked it in during the second half and we have room for improvement. They brought a lot of energy and were really excited to get back out there in our home gym."
 
The Scots jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first eight points of the game on baskets from four different players. Monmouth pushed the lead to 13-3 and eventually led by five at the end of the first quarter, 20-15.
 
The Scots started the second quarter on a 5-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Josie Morgan (Washington, Illinois). Buena Vista cut the lead to two with 6:29 to play before Kaitlyn Osmulski (Peoria, Illinois) hit a three. The Scots scored the final six points of the half on a bucket rom Osmulski and two jumpers in the lane from Jordan Kintigh (Gosher, Indiana). Monmouth went into the half, leading 37-28 as Kintigh led the way with 12 points.
 
Monmouth started the third quarter with 3-pointers from Tarae Warner (Burlington, Iowa) and Osmulski for a 13-point lead. Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Illinois) joined the 3-point barrage and the Scots extended the lead to 60-43 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Buena Vista made a run in the fourth quarter and cut the Scots lead to eight at 62-52 before Osmulski scored on two straight possessions. Mitchell made three free throws for a 67-52 lead and added a layup. The teams traded points before Morgan knocked down the last bucket of the game with 21 seconds left for a 73-56 Monmouth win.
 
"Having great senior leadership was big in the second half as they took control of the game after the BV run," said Jones. "We did a really good job of keeping them out of the paint in the second half and came out of the locker room for the second half refocused."
 
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Osmulski led the Scots with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting…Michell made three 3-pointers and finished with 16 points off the bench…Kintigh (14) and Morgan (11) were also in double figures…Kintigh posted a double-double with 10 rebounds…Osmulski and Morgan both had five assists as Monmouth tallied 15 on the day…Morgan also had three steals…The Scots shot 51 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc…Delaney Scheidenhelm (New Berlin, Illinois), Anna Caster (Greenfield, Indiana) and Biancha Luna (Monmouth, Illinois) made their college basketball debuts…The Scots will play at home on Wednesday against Eureka at 7 p.m.