November 30, 2005
Freshmen shine as Lady Monarchs rout Meredith 79-55
Forsberg, Whitehurst record career-highs in Methodist victory

RALEIGH, N.C. – After a rough weekend and two defeats in the Methodist/InnKeeper Turkey Shootout, it didn’t take the Methodist Lady Monarchs long for a strong recovery. Behind the stellar play of freshmen posts Ann Forsberg and Kristen Whitehurst, the Lady Monarchs continued their dominance over in-state rival Meredith with a 79-55 rout over Meredith on Wednesday night at Weatherspoon Gymnasium.

The victory evens the Lady Monarchs at 3-3 overall, and Methodist has now won six straight games against Meredith.

Forsberg and Whitehurst both had career-highs in scoring for their young Lady Monarch careers. Forsberg, a 6-foot forward, scored a career-high 21 points on an impressive 8-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 shooting from 3-point range. Whitehurst, a 5-10 forward, scored a career-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.

Methodist never trailed from the start, and built a double-digit lead midway through the first half. Forsberg’s basket at the 8:20 mark gave the Lady Monarchs a 21-11 lead, and consecutive jump shots by Forsberg stretched the lead to 29-12 with 5:43 remaining.

Stacy Williams’ lay-up at the 3:59 mark gave Methodist its largest lead of the half, 35-16.

Trailing by 15 points at halftime, Meredith made a strong charge early in the second half, twice cutting Methodist’s lead to five points. A 3-point basket by Nicole Miller made the Lady Monarch lead 55-50 with 9:58 remaining.

However, Methodist had an answer, and it was Forsberg. She responded with a 3-point basket and two free throws to stretch the Lady Monarch lead back to 60-50 with 8:56 remaining. Four straight free throws by Williams increased the Methodist lead to 64-50 at the 8:14 mark. The Lady Monarchs put the game away with a 15-3 run to close it out.

In addition to Forsberg, Williams scored 16 points for the Lady Monarchs on an impressive 10-for-12 from the free throw line. Center Antionett Holliday added eight points and seven rebounds. For the game, the Lady Monarchs shot an impressive 57 percent from the floor, including a whopping 67 percent from 3-point range.

Nicole Hall scored 14 points to pace Meredith (1-3), while Amira Issa scored 10 points.

Methodist plays in the Bethany Holiday Classic this weekend in Bethany, WVa. The Lady Monarchs open the tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. against Ohio Dominican.