Box Score
The Prairie Fire women's basketball team came up short in an effort to win
back-to-back games Friday night in Rock Island, Illinois.
Two nights after dismantling Midwest Conference foe Lawrence University 74-50 at Memorial Gym, Knox came out on the wrong end of a 75-73 score at Augustana College.
The Vikings (4-7) -- winners of four of their last five games -- led by as many as eight points in the first half, 26-18, with 5:05 to go before intermission. The Prairie Fire (3-6) scored eight of the final 12 points to cut the deficit to 30-26 at halftime.
Knox came out strong in the second half, tying the game at 34-34 on a three-point basket from sophomore Sara Johnson (Grinnell, Iowa) at the 16:58 mark. The Prairie Fire appeared to be on track for a win, building a 68-61 lead with 4:38 left in the game.
That's when things turned around of Augie.
The Vikings outscored the Fire 8-1 to tie the game -- the fifth tie -- at 69-69 with 2:38 to go. The two teams tied the contest two more times: at 71-71 (2:07) and 73-73 (1:11). The Prairie Fire, however, would not score again and Augustana would ultimately win the game on a pair of made free throws by Natalie Runge with 11 seconds.
A jumper by Krystyna Williams (Evanston, Illinois) that would have sent the game to overtime missed the mark, and the Vikings escaped with the victory.
The Fire shot 48 percent (26-of-54) overall, including 3-of-9 from three point range. The team connected on 18-of-23 from the foul line -- or 78 percent. The two starting forwards for Knox combined for 41 points and 18 rebounds. Junior Kelly Ricketts (Galesburg, Illinois) scored a season high 21 points and grabbed five boards while Williams also poured in a season high 20 points. She recorded a double-double with 13 rebounds as the Prairie Fire controlled the glass 40-34.
Senior guard Jenny Haskell (Murphys, California) also reached double figures for the Prairie Fire with 10 points. She added four rebounds, four assists and two steals, but also committed eight of her team's 22 turnovers.
Augie shot 27-of-64, or 42 percent, in the game and made 9-of-20 from long distance while sinking 12-of-18 free throws. Runge led three Vikings in double figures with 16 points.
The Fire next plays January 8 at home against Midwest Conference rival Monmouth College. The Scots -- winners of two straight -- own a 4-3 overall record, including a 3-1 mark in MWC play. Monmouth's league wins have come at Beloit (68-62) and at home against Illinois College (73-59) and Ripon (65-37). The Redhawks entered that game at Glennie Gymnasium December 19 with an unbeaten conference record.
