Box Score
Appleton, WI – The Prairie Fire rallied from a double-digit deficit early in the second half but came up short 81-77 in a Midwest Conference game Tuesday night at Lawrence University.
The Vikings (1-6, 1-2 MWC) ended a 31-game losing streak with the victory and won their first Midwest Conference game since 2008.
Lawrence, which made 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range and connected on 47 percent from the field overall in the first half, led Knox 42-27 at the intermission.
The Prairie Fire (1-7, 1-4 MWC) got off to a good start and led 9-6 with 15:21 to play in the first half. The Vikings scored 10 consecutive points over the next four minutes to take a 16-9 lead.
Lawrence extended its lead to 23-13 at the 8:43 mark before Knox responded and trimmed the deficit to 28-24 with 4:26 remaining. The Vikings outscored the Prairie Fire 14-3 the rest of the way to go up by 15 points at halftime.
While Lawrence was red hot shooting from long distance, Knox made 7-of-36 shots for 19 percent in the first half, including 2-of-23 from 3-point range. The Prairie Fire was able to keep the game within reach by knocking down 11-of-14 free throw attempts.
Knox found its offense in the second half and put together a 25-10 run, capped off by a 3-point bucket from senior Steph Nunez (Mokena, IL, Lincoln-Way East), to tie the game at 52-52 with 10:20 remaining. The Prairie Fire took its first lead of the second half, 55-54, at the 9:24 mark when first-year guard Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) drained a 3-point shot.
Knox led by as many as five points at 66-61 on a layup by senior Kelly Ricketts (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) with 5:24 left to play.
Lawrence came back with an 8-3 run and tied the contest at 69-69 on a pair of made free throws at 3:21. The game was also tied at 71-71 and 73-73. Knox led 74-73 on a free throw by Marver with 2:10 to play.
The Vikings reclaimed the lead for good at 75-74 when Alex Deshler made two free throws at the 1:47 mark, part of a 6-0 run that extended the LU advantage to 79-74.
Ricketts sank a 3-point basket on Knox’s next possession to trim the deficit to 79-77, but the Prairie Fire couldn’t score again while Lawrence added a pair of free throws to close out the victory.
The Fire shot well in the second half, hitting on 53 percent and making 5-of-14 from beyond the 3-point line. Knox finished the game at 36 percent and went 20-for-25 from the foul line.
Lawrence cooled off to 32 percent shooting in the second half and made 40 percent overall. The Vikings hit 2-of-8 shots from 3-point range (8-of-15 in the game) and connected on 17-of-26 free throws after halftime. LU held a 53-38 rebounding advantage.
Ricketts was one of three Prairie Fire players to score in double figures with 14 points. Senior Krystyna Williams (Evanston, IL, Evanston Township) added 12 points and first-year guard Brittney Price (Wyoming, IL, Stark County) had 10.
Chioma Ejimkonye paced the Vikings on offense with 20 points while Deshler had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Prairie Fire tries to stop a three-game losing streak on Friday night at home against Buena Vista University (6-3). The game tips off at 5:30 p.m.
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