Waukesha, WI – The Prairie Fire got off to a slow start and never recovered in a 98-71 Midwest Conference loss on Friday night at Carroll University.

The win gave the Pioneers (9-9, 8-5 MWC) a season split with the Prairie Fire.  Knox (4-15, 4-10 MWC) beat Carroll 83-78 in the teams’ first meeting of the season on December 3 at Memorial Gym.

The Pioneers scored the first six points of the game and owned a 26-6 lead with 11:14 to play in the opening half.  Knox put together a 16-8 run to trim the deficit to 34-22 at the 6:02 mark.

Carroll outscored the Prairie Fire 19-8 during the remainder of the first half to lead 53-30 at the break.

The Pioneers shot a blistering 70 percent (23-of-33) from the floor in the first 20 minutes and made 7-of-9 free throws.  Knox countered with 36 percent (9-of-25) shooting, including three 3-point baskets, while sinking 9-of-12 attempts from the foul line.

The Fire committed an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers in the first half that led to 20 Carroll points.  The Pioneers turned the ball over 14 times, leading to eight Knox points.  Carroll outscored the Prairie Fire in the paint 36-12 in the first stanza and 58-28 in the game.

The Pioneers scored two straight buckets to begin the second half for a 27 point lead at 57-30.  Knox managed to cut the Carroll advantage to 67-47 with 11:41 remaining in the game, but could get no closer.

The loss was the third straight for Knox while the Pioneers have won three in a row and seven of their last eight games.  Carroll holds a slim lead for fourth place in the MWC standings over Lake Forest College and Ripon College.  The two teams are a game back in the loss column with 8-6 league records.

Knox finished the game shooting 20-of-63 (32 percent) and 6-of-19 from 3-point range.  The Pioneers connected for 62 percent in the second half and wound up 44-of-67 (66 percent).  The hosts also had their way on the glass, outrebounding the Prairie Fire 47-32.

Junior Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL, Regina Dominican) matched her season-high with 15 points to lead the Prairie Fire.  She’s scored in double-figures in five of her last six games.  SeniorAbby Owens (Grinnell, IA, Grinnell) added 12 points for Knox.

Carroll’s Breann Maryanski posted a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.  Janelle Groer led all scorers with 23 points.

The Prairie Fire concludes a four-game road trip Saturday afternoon at 1:00 at Ripon College (9-10, 8-6 MWC).  The Red Hawks surprised Grinnell College (10-8, 9-5 MWC) 63-46 on Friday night at Ripon for their second straight victory. 

Grinnell, the third place team in the conference standings, has a big game on Saturday at MWC leader St. Norbert College (15-4, 13-1 MWC).  The Green Knights suffered their first conference loss of the season 77-72 on Friday night at home against second place Monmouth College (11-7, 10-3 MWC). 

The Scots, who came back from a 19-point first half deficit and scored 47 points in the second half, snapped SNC’s eight-game winning streak.  The loss was the first by the Knights in league play since January 14, 2011 at Illinois College (59-52), a span of 25 games.

Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Games – Saturday, February 4, 2012

Knox (4-15, 4-10) at Ripon (9-10, 8-6) – 2:00 pm  *view the game online at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal
Monmouth (11-7, 10-3) at Beloit (4-14, 1-12) – 2:00 pm
Grinnell (10-8, 9-5) at St. Norbert (15-4, 13-1) – 2:00 pm
Lake Forest (9-9, 8-6) at Carroll (9-9, 8-5) – 2:00 pm
Illinois College (6-12, 6-7) at Lawrence (1-18, 1-13) – 2:00 pm

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