Box Score
RIPON, Wisconsin – The Prairie Fire used an 11-2 run to build a 13 point lead in the first half and never looked back in a 74-60 Midwest Conference win at Ripon College on Saturday.

Knox (5-5, 3-2 MWC) won for the third time in the last four games and defeated Ripon for the first time since prevailing 61-48 on November 30, 2007 at home.  The Red Hawks suffered their eighth straight loss.

After two ties and two lead changes, sophomore Molly Lascelles (Ipava, IL, VIT) knocked down a jumper that put Knox on top 20-18 with 8:48 left in the first half.  Ripon split a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to one, but a 3-point basket and two free throws by senior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) gave the Prairie Fire a 25-19 advantage about two minutes later.

The Red Hawks (1-10, 1-5 MWC) got within four on a bucket inside.  Knox answered by scoring 11 of the next 13 points, capped off by a basket from Marver that extended the lead to 36-23 with 4:31 remaining.  The Prairie Fire matched their biggest lead of the half at 38-25 before Ripon closed with a 6-2 run and trailed 40-31 at halftime.

Knox shot 50 percent (16-of-32) and forced 21 turnovers by the Red Hawks in the first half.

The Prairie Fire reclaimed a 13 point lead early in the second half when junior Jasmine Binion (Davenport, IA, Assumption) sank a 3-pointer for a 46-33 advantage.  Ripon closed the gap to eight on several occasions, the last time at 60-52 with 6:24 left in the contest.

Knox put the game out of reach on a conventional 3-point play by first-year Naja Woods (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) that closed out a 10-3 run and pushed the lead to 70-55 with just 1:41 to play.

The Prairie Fire shot 40 percent (25-of-63) from the floor and 20-of-35 from the foul line.  Ripon also shot 40 percent (25-of-62) overall.  The Red Hawks struggled with their free throws, missing 14 out of 23 attempts.  The relentless pressure defense by Knox resulted in 40 turnovers by Ripon.

Marver led all scorers with 22 points, including 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line.  Woods also scored in double-figures for the Prairie Fire with 11 points.

Knox resumes play at home against Cornell College (5-6, 3-2 MWC) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.