SCOTS’ FORREST ON FIRE, SETS SCHOOL SHOOTING RECORD

MONMOUTH, Ill. – When Deerfield’s Colleen Forrest entered Monmouth College, a Division III school in western Illinois, to play basketball, the Fighting Scots knew they were getting a pretty good shooter. What they didn’t know was how quickly she would be breaking records.

It’s only fitting that the 5-foot-5 guard with a quick release and gunslinger mentality is playing in Monmouth, the birthplace of Old West lawman Wyatt Earp. Forrest has been on fire this season and has already rewritten the Monmouth record book as a sophomore. Earlier this year, Forrest set the new in-game standard, making eight 3-pointers to break the record she tied as a freshman and shared with Tina Forth from the 1995 squad.

Forrest’s latest long range run has given her the school record for 3-pointers in a single season. Beloit College couldn’t see Forrest for the threes in an 80-64 Monmouth win last week when she made her school record 57th trey to break the mark that has stood since 1996.

The long range bomber’s 10.7-point average ties her for second in scoring for the balanced Monmouth attack that has rolled to a 12-6 record. She’s also fifth in Division III in 3-point accuracy, hitting nearly 48 percent of her shots from beyond the arc.

Monmouth will have to wait one more year for Forrest to chop down another Scots’ record. Her 105 career 3-pointers is closing in on that record as well, but with five more games left, she’ll likely have to wait until the 2011-12 campaign to eclipse the career mark of 169.

One thing is for certain, the Scots are glad Forrest has sprouted into one of the program’s best 3-point shooters.
Story by Dan Nolan