(updated 12/20/12 to include result of Presentation College game against Pacific Lutheran)

Daytona Beach, FL – The Prairie Fire’s trip to Florida is off to a good start.

Knox beat Fontbonne University 73-54 on Wednesday in the Daytona Beach Shootout, handing the Griffins their sixth straight loss.  The win was the second in the last three games for the Prairie Fire.

Fontbonne (2-7) scored eight of the first nine points three minutes into the contest for an 8-1 lead.  Baskets by first-year Alycia Webster (Allen Park, MI, Melvindale) and senior Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL, Regina Dominican) cut the deficit to 8-5 about two minutes later.

The teams played through three ties over the next six minutes before Fontbonne scored two straight baskets and led 22-18 at the 6:43 mark.

A bucket by Webster with 6:29 remaining kick-started a 9-0 run by Knox.  The Prairie Fire broke a 22-22 tie, the fourth deadlock of the half, when sophomore Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) sank two free throws 4:43 before the break for a 24-22 lead.

Knox (3-6) never gave up its first lead of the game.

A 3-pointer by sophomore Brittney Price (Wyoming, IL, Stark County) with 3:23 to play completed the run and extended the Prairie Fire advantage to 27-22.

The Griffins scored their last bucket of the first half with just under 3:00 to go.  Knox followed with five straight points – a 3-pointer by Marver and two free throws by Webster – to lead 32-24 at the end of the first half.

Neither team shot particularly well in the opening stanza. 

The Prairie Fire was 10-of-42 (24%) from the field and 4-of-26 (15%) from 3-point range.  Helping the cause was foul shooting as Knox went 8-for-12 (67%).  Fontbonne made 10-of-36 (28%) shots from the floor and hit 4-for-5 from the free throw line in the half, but missed all eight shot attempts from behind the 3-point line.

The difference for Knox was a 20-4 edge combined from 3-point range and the free throw line against the Griffins in the first half.

The Prairie Fire grabbed its first double-figure lead at 34-24 when Webster swished a jumper 15 seconds into the second half.

Fontbonne scored on its first possession of the second half, followed by a 3-pointer from sophomore Katie White (Peoria, IL, Notre Dame) to give Knox a 37-26 lead at the 19:12 mark.  White’s basket was the start of an 8-2 run that stretched the Prairie Fire advantage to 42-28 two minutes later.

The Griffins put together an 11-4 run of their own to cut the Knox lead in half at 46-39 with 13:54 remaining in the contest.

The Prairie Fire got into a groove offensively by scoring 15 of the next 18 points, including three 3-point field goals – two of them by Price – for a 61-42 lead with 7:42 to play.  Knox took its biggest lead at 73-49 two minutes later. 

Fontbonne scored five points the rest of the game and was outscored by Knox 41-32 after halftime.

The Prairie Fire improved to 42% shooting by connecting on 16-of-38 field goals in the second half and 8-of-22 (36%) from  3-point distance.  Knox finished the game 26-of-80 (32.5%) from the floor, 12-of-48 (25%) from 3-point range, and 9-for-16 (56%) from the free throw line.

The Griffins shot 28% (21-of-74) overall and just 2-of-17 (12%) from long distance while connecting on 10-for-15 (67%) foul shots.

Fontbonne held the rebounding edge 65-48 while the Prairie Fire's defensive pressure helped create 33 turnovers by the Griffins.

Webster and Marver scored 14 points apiece to lead Knox in scoring.  Webster also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.  Price, who was 4-of-9 from 3-point range, followed with a season-high 12 points.

The Prairie Fire’s second and final game in the shootout is against Presentation College (SD) on Friday, December 21 at 12:00 p.m. (EST).  The Saints (4-6) have lost two straight games after falling to Pacific Lutheran 65-60 on Thursday in their first game of the shootout.

Live stats from the Knox game against Presentation will be available at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/sporttours.portal#

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