Galesburg, IL – Illinois College pulled away from the Prairie Fire in the final minute of a close game on Wednesday and posted a 103-95 Midwest Conference victory.

The Lady Blues got off to a hot start, taking a 14-2 lead about 5:00 into the game.  The Prairie Fire (4-17, 4-12 MWC) whittled the IC lead down to 10 at 16-6 before going on an 11-0 run that was capped off by senior Abby Owens (Grinnell, IA, Grinnell), who drained a 3-pointer to give Knox its first lead at 17-16 at the 12:00 mark.

Illinois College (8-12, 8-7 MWC) tied the game at 22-22 on a free throw with 9:32 remaining in the half.  The Lady Blues outscored the Fire 17-8 from that point for a 39-30 lead with 3:48 to play.

An 8-0 run by Knox closed the gap to 39-38 with 1:40 remaining.  A basket and free throw by IC extended the advantage to 42-38 before the Prairie Fire scored six of the next eight points to tie the game at 44-44 at the half.

The Lady Blues shot 54 percent in the first half while the Fire knocked down 26 percent from the floor.  Knox was able to stay with IC by hitting seven 3-pointers and making nine free throws.

Knox opened the second half on a 5-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 54-49.  IC followed with a 19-1 spurt for a 63-50 advantage with 14:42 left in the contest.

The Fire trimmed the deficit to one on three different occasions, the last time at 92-91 with 52 seconds to play.  Illinois College outscored Knox 9-4 the rest of the way to hang on and win their fifth straight game.

IC sank 53 percent of its shots in the second half and finished at 54 percent while making 28-of-38 free throws.  The Prairie Fire shot 32 percent overall, including 16-of-43 from 3-point range, and closed at 17-of-29 from the foul line.

Owens scored a career-high 21 points to lead Knox.  Two first-year guards, Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) (15 points) and Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) (11 points) also scored in double-figures, along with junior Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL, Regina Dominican) with 10 points and six assists.

IC, which committed 41 turnovers in the game, was led by Brittney Burgess with a game-high 35 points.

The Prairie Fire plays its final road game of the season on February 15 at Lake Forest College (10-9, 9-6 MWC) before closing the season at home on February 18 against Monmouth College (12-8, 11-4 MWC).  The Foresters and Carroll University (10-9, 9-6 MWC) are tied for fourth place in the conference.  Lake Forest won both meetings against the Pioneers this season and holds the tiebreaker if the teams finish the regular season with the same MWC record.

The Knox seniors and their parents will be recognized immediately after the game on February 18 against the Fighting Scots, which is scheduled to tip off at 3:00 p.m., as part of Senior and Parents Day.

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