Jacksonville, IL – The Prairie Fire made big lead in the first half stand up and defeated Illinois College 92-87 in Midwest Conference play on Wednesday night.

The win, the first for Knox against IC since a 68-49 victory on February 2, 2010 at home, snapped a two-game losing streak overall for the Prairie Fire (5-8, 3-5) and a five-game slide against the Lady Blues, who lost their third straight and first at home this season (3-1).

Knox led 53-33 at halftime on the strength of 10 buckets from 3-point range while holding Illinois College to 28% shooting. 

IC started strong, scoring the first seven points of the game for a 7-0 lead at 18:55. The Prairie Fire tied the contest at 14-14 on two free throws by junior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN) at the 12:27 mark.  IC followed with a 5-0 spurt and led 19-14 with 10:24 before the break.  A 3-pointer by senior Sara Johnson (Grinnell, Iowa) about three minutes later capped an 11-0 run that gave Knox a 25-19 advantage.

Two free throws by Illinois College pulled the Lady Blues within 32-29 with 3:54 left in the first half.  The Prairie Fire outscored IC 21-4 the rest of the way for the 20 point advantage at the break.

The Lady Blues (5-8, 3-5 MWC) made a run in the second half, outscoring the Prairie Fire 54-39, but it wasn’t enough. 

IC whittled the Knox lead under double-figures to 85-77, part of an 8-0 run that got the hosts within four points at 85-81 with just under 2:00 left in the game after trailing 85-73 at the 3:47 mark. 

The Prairie Fire answered with three straight points on a basket by sophomore Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL) and a free throw by senior Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL) to go up 88-81 with 1:37 remaining.

Illinois College twice trimmed the deficit to four points in the final minute but couldn't get over the hump.

Marver led Knox with 24 points, her fourth game topping the 20 point mark this seaosn, and McDonald had 14.  Johnson and sophomore Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL) also scored in double-figures with 13 points each.

Tiffany King had a double-double for the Lady Blues with 29 points and 14 rebounds.

The Prairie Fire finished with 12 baskets from 3-point range, outscoring Illinois College 36-3 from long distance, and made 32-of-41 (78%) attempts from the free throw line.  IC was 1-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc and hit 30-of-38 foul shots as the teams combined for 59 fouls.

Knox also made the Lady Blues pay for turning the ball over, scoring 27 points off of 27 IC miscues.  The Prairie Fire bench was effective as well, outscoring Illinois College's reserves 41-27.  IC held the rebounding edge 62-41.

Knox tries for a second straight win on Saturday afternoon at home against Carroll University (6-5, 5-3 MWC).  The game tips off at 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Web beginning at 12:50 p.m. at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/knox.portal# 

Carroll defeated Beloit College 75-74 in OT on Wednesday night in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the second straight win for the Pioneers.  CU is currently in fourth place in the Midwest Conference standings behind Cornell, Monmouth, and St. Norbert.

Knox and Carroll split their two games last season.  The Prairie Fire won the first meeting 83-78 at Memorial Gymnasium.  The Pioneers defeated Knox 98-71 in the second game on Carroll's home floor.

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