Box Score

Beloit, Wis. –The Prairie Fire withstood several big runs by Beloit College, but a 7-0 surge late in the game was too much to overcome as the Buccaneers prevailed 94-87 on Thursday night.

Beloit jumped out to a 13-4 lead a little over four minutes into the Midwest Conference contest.  Junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) snapped a run of seven unanswered points by the Bucs with a 3-point basket at the 15:26 mark that trimmed the deficit to six.

Beloit (3-5, 3-2 MWC) made a layup on its next possession, the start of an 8-2 surge that resulted in the first double-digit lead of the game at 21-9 about 2:30 later.

Knox responded with 3-pointers by first-year Aly Eastman (Kewanee, IL, Wethersfield), sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University), junior Brittney Price (Wyoming, IL, Stark County), and Howard – all part of a 22-7 run over a nearly six minute stretch – for a 31-28 lead with 8:00 left in the first half.

The Buccaneers reclaimed the lead at 32-31 on a pair of free throws and a jump shot.  Senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) split a pair of foul shots to tie the game at 32-32 with 6:31 to go, and then a 3-pointer by junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) put the Prairie Fire back on top 35-32.

The roller coaster ride continued.  Beloit's Leah Kruckman converted a three point play after she was fouled during a layup, the first three points of a 16-2 run that allowed the Bucs to reclaim a double-digit lead at 48-37 with just under 2:00 to play in the opening half.

A free throw by Theisen was the only point Knox scored the rest of the half.  Beloit outscored the Prairie Fire 20-3 over the final 6:02 and held a 52-38 halftime lead.

Knox (1-8, 0-5 MWC) shot 37 percent in the first half.  Eight of the Prairie Fire's 13 field goals were 3-pointers.  The Buccaneers knocked down 62.5 percent of their shots.  The top free throw shooting team in the Midwest Conference, Beloit was 12-of-14 from the foul line while Knox was an uncharacteristic 4-of-10.

The Buccaneers pushed the lead to 61-45, their biggest of the game, less than three minutes into the second half.
However, the Prairie Fire refused to go away and answered back.

A basket by Theisen cut the Beloit advantage in half at 67-59 with 11:16 remaining.  Knox forced a turnover and Marver converted a conventional three point play after she scored on a drive to the basket and was fouled.

The Prairie Fire had all of the momentum going their way when senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) drilled a 3-point basket that capped a 29-13 run and trimmed the Beloit lead to 74-72 with 7:16 left in the game.

Beloit snatched the momentum back with a three point play on the next possession for a five point cushion, 77-72.
Knox closed the gap to three points on two more occasions, the last time at 80-77 after Blue split a pair of free throws with 3:43 to go.

The Buccaneers scored seven straight points, including a three point play by 2012-13 MWC scoring champion Lauren McNanna about a minute later, to extend the lead to 87-77.

The Prairie Fire cut Beloit's lead to six on four occasions, but the Bucs put points on the board each time they got the ball back.

Knox finished with a season-high 12 baskets from 3-point range and shot 40 percent overall.  Beloit connected on 53 percent from the field.  The big difference was at the free throw line, where the Buccaneers doubled up the Prairie Fire 26-13.

Knox forced 30 Beloit turnovers while committing 19.  The Bucs had the edge inside, outscoring the Prairie Fire 58-30 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 51-34.

Beloit also snapped a four game losing streak against Knox dating back to the 2010-11 season.

Theisen led six Prairie Fire players in double-figure scoring with a career-high 19 points and shared team-high honors with seven rebounds.  Marver added 14 points and Eastman 13.

Howard, who leads the Midwest Conference in 3-point baskets, netted four more treys for 12 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.  Heckman had 11 points and three steals while increasing her MWC-leading free throw percentage to 94.4 percent (34-of-36) after a 4-for-4 night from the stripe.  Price hit two 3-point buckets en route to a 10 point game.

Lana Wieseman, the third-leading scorer in the MWC, tied a single-game Beloit women's basketball record with 34 points.

Knox resumes conference play at Carroll University on January 4 at 5:00 p.m.  The Pioneers (5-3, 3-2 MWC) dropped their last game 71-55 at Midwest Conference co-leader St. Norbert College on December 18.

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