Monmouth College used a big second half to pull away from Grinnell College for an 83-64 women's basketball victory Wednesday night.

The Fighting Scots, who improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Midwest Conference, led 38-35 at the break before going on a 45-29 run in the second half. Grinnell fell to 0-6 and 0-3 in the MWC.

Hannah Wolf '08 (pictured) led Grinnell with 21 points and four rebounds, while Jessica Vaverka '11 added 10 points and four boards. Brianna Gallo '11 had four assists and Laura Burton '08 four rebounds. Monmouth's Melissa Gorski led all scorers with 22 points and had 13 rebounds.

Monmouth went up by 10 at 27-17 midway through the first half, but Grinnell raced back with an 11-point run to take a one-point lead. Wolf opened the spurt with a basket and 3-pointer, Mallory Scharf '11 nailed a trey, Kate Norton '11 sank a pair of free throws and Miki Nakamura '10 converted on a layup. Grinnell got its lead as big as four when Vaverka scored on a jumper, but Monmouth ended the half with a 9-2 run for the halftime cushion.

Grinnell hung tight partway through the second half and led 48-46 after Wolf's 3-pointer with 13:43 to go. But Monmouth countered with a 13-2 run and never looked back.

The Pioneers step out of league play Saturday when Central College visits Darby Gymnasium. Game time is 3 p.m.
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