Box Score

Waukesha, Wis. – It was a tale of two halves for the Prairie Fire, who dropped a 104-94 Midwest Conference game to Carroll University on Saturday.

Knox withstood a fast start by Carroll, which jumped out to a 13-5 lead a little over four minutes into the contest.  The Prairie Fire closed the gap to 13-10 on a layup by junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) and a 3-point bucket by sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University).

The Pioneers built their lead back to seven (17-10) with 12:48 remaining.  Two free throws by Marver capped an 11-4 run by Knox to force the second tie of the game at 21-21 four minutes later.

Carroll led one more time at 23-21 before the Prairie Fire took control the rest of the half.

A layup by senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) forced a tie at 23 and kicked off a 21-6 surge that resulted in a 42-29 Knox lead at the 3:28 mark.

A three-point play by the Pioneers trimmed the Prairie Fire advantage to 42-32.  Knox led by as many as 21 at 55-34 before Carroll hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the first half and went into the break down 55-37.

The Prairie Fire shot exceptional in the first half, hitting 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from the field – including 7-of-19 from 3-point range.  Knox also made 14-of-20 free throws and forced 21 turnovers with its pressure defense.

Carroll sank a respectable 44 percent of its first half shots but was just 2-of-8 from the foul line.

Knox saw a 20 point lead early in the second half shaved to 78-69 with 10:16 left to play after the Pioneers scored six straight points.  A layup by junior Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) again gave the Fire a double-digit lead at 80-69 with just under 10:00 remaining.

The game then took a dramatic turn for the hosts.

Carroll ran off 12 straight points to grab the lead at 81-80 with 7:15 to go.

The Prairie Fire (1-9, 0-6 MWC) scored on their next possession – a layup by Theisen – for an 82-81 advantage.  The Pioneers responded with 10 straight points that put Knox in a 91-82 hole with 4:16 left in regulation.

Carroll (7-4, 4-2 MWC) led by as many as 13 points at 100-87.  The Prairie Fire trimmed the deficit to 100-92 on a triple by Marver with 46 seconds on the clock.

Knox was forced to foul, and the Pioneers drained 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch to pull out the come-from-behind victory.

Carroll outscored Knox 67-39 in the second half, fueled by 72 percent shooting.  The Pioneers, who took only two 3-point shots in the game, scored 76 points in the paint compared to 34 for the Prairie Fire.

Knox drilled a season-high 13 shots from 3-point range and finished the game shooting 46 percent, also a season-best.  Carroll wound up shooting 57 percent overall and controlled the glass 55-32 – including 18 offensive rebounds.

Marver led the Prairie Fire with 23 points and eight rebounds.  Theisen scored a career-high 21 points and senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) also scored in double-figures with 10 to go along with six assists.

Knox returns to Memorial Gym for a non-conference game against Bethany Lutheran College on Monday at 5:00 p.m.  The Vikings (2-7) play at Illinois Institute of Technology on Sunday before the contest at Knox.

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