Box Score GALESBURG, Illinois – The Prairie Fire won a back-and-forth game over Illinois College 100-89 in Midwest Conference play on Tuesday at Memorial Gym.
Knox (3-4, 2-2 MWC) handed IC its first conference loss despite the Lady Blues taking 24 more free throws in the contest. The teams combined for 62 fouls and 86 free throws with Illinois College shooting 36-of-55 (65.5 percent) from the stripe and the Prairie Fire 26-of-31 (83.9 percent).
The game featured eight ties and seven lead changes. Knox weathered a 7-2 run by IC in the first two minutes and built its biggest lead of the half, 32-24, on a pair of free throws by senior
Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) at the 9:01 mark. The Lady Blues (4-3, 2-1 MWC) followed with eight unanswered points to force the second tie - 32-32 - with 7:48 remaining.
Knox gained some separation on a 3-pointer by Marver and two free throws by junior
Saundra Gavazzi (Gilbert, AZ, Chandler) for a five point advantage about 30 seconds later. IC trimmed the deficit to 45-44 with 1:16 left in the half before senior
Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) buried a deep 3-pointer to make it a 48-44 game. Illinois College hit two free throws to close out the first half scoring and trailed the Prairie Fire 48-46 at the break.
Junior
Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) had a big first half for Knox with 14 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
The Lady Blues began the second half with a 9-2 run to press ahead 55-50. IC appeared poised to take control by extending to its biggest lead of the game, 66-57, with 11:33 remaining.
Knox refused to fold. A jumper by first-year
Erin Orr (Chicago, IL, Oak Park-River Forest) tied the game for the eighth time, 79-79, and kicked off a 7-0 run. The Prairie Fire took the lead for good at 82-79 on a 3-point basket from the top of the key by sophomore
Aly Eastman (Kewanee, IL, Wethersfield) with 5:29 to play.
Illinois College closed the gap to 84-81, but Knox – in large part because of Marver's lights out free throw shooting – shut the door.
Marver hit 8-of-8 foul shots in the final four minutes to help seal the victory. She finished 14-of-14 from the line, setting a new Knox women's basketball record.
The Prairie Fire more than overcame Illinois College's 10 extra made free throws by forcing 35 turnovers that resulted in 34 points compared to just nine points off of turnovers for IC. The Knox bench was also big, outscoring the Lady Blues' reserves 53-11.
The Prairie Fire shot 34 percent (31-of-91) overall and knocked down 12 baskets from 3-point distance. IC wound up shooting 42.6 percent (26-of-61), including 1-of-8 from long range.
The win for Knox snapped a two-game slide against Illinois College.
Marver led the Prairie Fire with 17 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Blue added 14 points and six rebounds, Gavazzi scored 13 points, and sophomore
Molly Lascelles (Ipava, IL, VIT) was also in double-figures with 10 points and shared team-high rebounding honors with seven.
Knox travels to California for its next two games. The Prairie Fire play at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific) and follow with another game at the University of La Verne on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific).
