Box Score

Rockford, IL – The Prairie Fire had a tough shooting night and dropped a 118-96 non-conference game at Rockford University on Tuesday.

Knox fell behind 10-1 in the first four minutes but battled back with a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to 14-11 with 12:38 remaining in the opening half.

The Regents (2-1) scored eight straight points to extend their lead to 22-11.  The Prairie Fire, after trailing by as many as 12 points (24-12), answered with a 24-11 surge that was capped off by a 3-pointer from first-year Aly Eastman (Kewanee, IL, Wethersfield) for their first lead of the game at 36-35 at the 6:06 mark.

The teams exchanged leads, the last one for Knox at 40-39 when first-year Molly Lascelles (Ipava, IL, VIT) sank a pair of free throws with 4:38 to play, before Rockford closed out the half on a 16-7 run for a 55-47 lead at the break.

The Prairie Fire (1-2) shot 29 percent in the first half, including a chilly 5-of-27 (18.5 percent) from 3-point range.  Knox was able to stay close by sinking 12 free throws and forcing 21 Rockford turnovers.

The Regents were locked in shooting the basketball, knocking down 60 percent from the floor while outrebounding the Fire 38-21.

Rockford continued its hot shooting and built the lead to 77-59 six minutes into the second half.

Knox made one more run at the Regents, whittling the deficit down to nine at 88-79 on a layup by junior Jessica Howard with 6:48 left in the game.

Rockford responded with five straight points and didn't allow the Prairie Fire any closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Knox finished the game shooting 31 percent (32-of-102) overall and 9-of-56 from behind the 3-point line (16 percent).  The Regents shot 61 percent (43-of-71) and held a 67-49 edge on the glass, offsetting the 36 turnovers they committed that led to 40 Prairie Fire points.

Both squads were busy from the free throw line, combining for 79 attempts, after they committed 62 fouls.

Junior Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) recorded a double-double for the Prairie Fire with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Four other Knox players scored in double-figures.

Senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) led the way with a career-high 22 points, junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) added 16 along with five steals, senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) had 15, and Eastman contributed 11.

Knox resumes play with a non-conference game at Eureka College (1-1) on November 30.  The game tips off at 1:00 p.m. and live stats will be available online at http://www.sidearmstats.com/eureka/wbball/  Live video streaming (fee charged) at http://eurekareddevils.com/showcase/

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