Box Score
Beloit, WI. – The Prairie Fire scored a season-high in points and earned a road victory for the first time this season by winning against Midwest Conference foe Beloit College on Friday at Flood Arena.
Despite shooting 30 percent in the first half, Knox (2-11, 2-6) led 48-42 at halftime. The Prairie Fire hit eight 3-pointers (8-of-30) to none for the Buccaneers and sank 10-of-14 free throws.
Beloit (4-8, 1-6 MWC) shot 51 percent in the opening stanza but made just 6-of-13 foul shots and committed 16 turnovers while forcing the Fire into just eight mistakes with the basketball.
Knox took a seven point lead at 14-7 4:30 into the contest. The advantage grew to 13 at 32-19 with 9:04 remaining in the half when first-year Brittney Price (Wyoming, IL, Stark County) drained a 3-pointer to cap off an 18-8 run.
The Buccaneers closed the gap to 38-33 at the 4:00 mark. The teams played virtually even the rest of the way as the Fire held a 10-9 scoring advantage to take the six point lead at the intermission.
Beloit came out firing in the second half. The Bucs put together a 12-5 run to take a 54-53 lead with 15:37 to play.
An 8-0 run gave the Prairie Fire a 62-54 lead at the 13:58 mark. Beloit, however, answered right back by scoring nine of the next 11 points to trim Knox’s lead to 64-63 with 12:43 to go.
An offensive flurry that followed by the Prairie Fire was the difference in the game. Knox outscored Beloit 19-5 over a seven minute stretch to increase the lead to 83-68 with 5:45 remaining. The Bucs got as close as 12 points, 88-76 at 4:12, but the Prairie Fire kept up the pressure by extending the lead to 22 points with 27 seconds to play on a jumper by senior Krystyna Williams (Evanston, IL, Evanston Township).
Knox shot 43 percent in the second half, which included three 3-pointers and 11-of-18 from the free throw line, in outscoring Beloit 54-40. The Fire shot 35-of-97 overall (36 percent), 11-of-42 from 3-point range, and 21-of-32 from the free throw line.
The Buccaneers made 46 percent of their shots in the second half and finished 34-of-70 for 49 percent. Beloit was also 1-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc and 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) from the free throw line.
The Fire outrebounded Beloit 56-50, including 26 on the offensive glass, and had 17 steals in forcing 33 turnovers by the Bucs. Knox turned the ball over 16 times.
Senior Kelly Ricketts (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg), one of five Prairie Fire players to score in double-figures, had a team-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Williams recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) scored a career-high 15 points while Price matched her career high with 11 points. First-year Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) added 10 points, the fourth consecutive game she’s scored in double-figures. Another big contributor was first-year Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep), who scored eight points and dished out eight assists, the most in a game for the Prairie Fire this season.
The loss was the third in the last four games for Beloit, which fell to 3-2 at home this season. Faith Jones led the Bucs with a game-high 20 points.
The Prairie Fire plays at St. Norbert College on Saturday afternoon. The Green Knights (10-3, 8-0 MWC) have won three straight games, including a 71-56 victory Friday night at home against Illinois College, to improve to 6-1 on their home floor. St. Norbert defeated Knox 90-75 in the first meeting between the schools on December 10 at Memorial Gym.
Live streaming of the game, which tips off at 2:00 p.m., is available online at www.pennatlantic. Live stats are also available at http://www.snc.edu/athletics/teamfiles/livestats/xlive.htm
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