Galesburg, IL – The top scorer and rebounder for the resurgent women’s basketball team has been named the recipient of the Prairie Fire Performer of the Week Award for the second straight week.
Senior Krystyna Williams (Evanston, IL, Evanston Township) received the honor after helping the team win a pair of home games last Friday and Saturday against Lawrence University and Beloit College. The Prairie Fire also set three new women’s basketball records in the victory over the Buccaneers.
Williams posted her fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds as Knox downed Lawrence 98-80 on January 20 to earn a season split with the Vikings. Williams followed with 16 points and nine rebounds in a 114-100 triumph against Beloit on January 21, giving the Fire a season sweep of the Bucs.
Knox has won three of its last four games.
Williams averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds last weekend while shooting 52 percent from the field and 77 percent from the foul line. She’s scored in double-figures in five straight games, and during that stretch is averaging 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
The Prairie Fire set a new women's basketball record for points scored in a game with 114 against Beloit, topping the previous high of 102 that occurred on two different occasions. The first time was during the 1991-92 season when Knox scored 102 against Aurora in an overtime game. The Fire scored 102 points again at Beloit on January 13 in a 20-point victory.
Two other records fell in the game against the Buccaneers on January 21. The 38 made free throws by Knox bested the previous high of 29 in 1990 against Monmouth College. The Prairie Fire attempted 49 free throws, two more than the now former record of 47 attempts against Cornell College in 1989.
Williams is averaging team-highs of 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds this season. She’s shooting 49 percent from the field and 74.5 percent from the line – including 86 percent in the last five games – ranking her second on the team in both categories.
Williams ranks sixth in the Midwest Conference in scoring, fifth in rebounding and first in offensive rebounding (4.6 per game), and eighth in field goal percentage while playing an average of 16.3 minutes per game.
Knox leads the conference in scoring (82.6 ppg), offensive rebounding (18.7 per game), steals (15.8 per game), turnover margin (+7), 3-point baskets (185) and 3-point baskets per game (8.5), free throws made (343), and free throws attempted (547).
The Prairie Fire’s surge of three wins in the past four games has the team just two games out of fourth place in the win column in the Midwest Conference team standings. Lake Forest currently holds the fourth place spot with a 6-4 MWC record.
Williams and her Knox teammates have a very important four-game road trip that could change the look of the conference standings with some wins.
The Prairie Fire (4-12, 4-7 MWC) meets struggling Illinois College for the first time this season on January 28. The Lady Blues (3-12, 3-7) have lost five straight games and are just 2-7 on their home court. The second meeting between Knox and IC is February 8 at Memorial Gym.
The second game on the trip on January 31 takes the Prairie Fire to Grinnell College, which has been playing well lately. The Pioneers (8-6, 7-3 MWC) are in third place in the conference after winning two in a row and five of their last six games. Grinnell is 4-4 at Darby Gym and is coming off a pair of lopsided victories there – 67-39 over Beloit on January 20 and 62-49 against Lawrence the following day. The Pioneers’ only loss in the last six games was a 46-44 setback against Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin on January 14. The Prairie Fire beat Carroll University (6-9, 5-5 MWC) 83-78 at home on December 3. Grinnell won the first game this season against Knox 72-64 on December 7 at Memorial Gym.
Game three of the trip is at Carroll on February 3 as the Fire tries for a season sweep against the Pioneers. Carroll is tied with Ripon College for fifth place in the conference standings. The Pioneers’ four-game winning streak was snapped by Monmouth College at Glennie Gym, 64-62 on January 21. Carroll has played only three home games this season and won two of them.
The fourth game in seven days for Knox is at Ripon on February 4. The Prairie Fire tries for a season split with the Red Hawks after Ripon (6-9, 5-5 MWC) beat Knox at Memorial Gym 92-72 on December 2. The Red Hawks lost back-to-back games on January 20 and 21 at Monmouth College (70-61) and Lake Forest College (50-44). Ripon has a 3-2 home record.
Williams was also named the Prairie Fire Performer of the Week on January 18 after recording a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds at Beloit College on January 13 followed by a 12-point, 5-rebound effort at St. Norbert College on January 14.
Knox Women’s Basketball Among National Leaders in Scoring, Steals
The Prairie Fire ranks second in NCAA Division III in scoring offense, averaging 82.6 points per game. Louisiana College leads the nation with a scoring average of 87.9 points. Knox has scored the sixth-most points in the country with 1321. The Division III leader is Kean College’s 1451 points. In addition, the Fire ranks fourth in three-point field goals per game with 8.5, and the team’s average of 15.8 steals per contest is eighth among 440 ranked schools.
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