St. Norbert Loses Battle But Wins War, Qualifies for MWC Tournament

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, February 16, 2019 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

MONMOUTH, Ill. - St. Norbert College lost a tough 68-64 overtime decision to Monmouth College at Glennie Gym, but got some help to qualify for the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament next weekend.

Thanks to Ripon College's 60-57 overtime win over Knox College just up the road in Galesburg, the Green Knights finished tied for fourth place with the Prairie Fire at 10-8 in the league standings. Thanks to St. Norbert's 49-47 win over the Red Hawks on Dec. 8, the Green Knights won the tiebreaker and will face Ripon in a MWC semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday at Willmore Center in Ripon.

St. Norbert (11-14, 10-8 MWC) headed into its game with Beloit on Jan. 8 sitting at 1-5 and in ninth place in the league standings. The Green Knights tipped the Buccaneers by one point, setting off a 9-3 mark down the stretch to eke into the post-season.

The Green Knights held a first-quarter lead of 14-13 before the Scots rallied to take a 31-23 edge into halftime. St. Norbert was able to whittle its deficit down to 44-40 by the end of the third quarter and eventually took a 55-50 lead with 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter on a Macie Zurfluh basket. Monmouth would score the last five points of regulation to force overtime.

St. Norbert never led in overtime but a long 3-pointer by Olivia DeCleene knotted the score at 64-64 with 9 seconds left. A pair of Shayne Smith baskets in the final seconds accounted for the final margin.

The Green Knights shot 47.3 percent (26-for-55) from the floor but struggled with a 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) showing at the free-throw line. DeCleene led St. Norbert with 18 points, while Liz Edinger added 15 points.

Monmouth shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61) from the floor. Carley Turnbull led the Scots with 26 points, while Kaitlyn Osmulski added 18 points.