Box Score

Galesburg, Ill. – Illinois College halted the Prairie Fire's bid for a third straight win 117-86 on Tuesday night at Memorial Gym.

IC (9-4, 7-1 MWC) posted its sixth victory in the last seven games and shares the lead in the Midwest Conference standings with St. Norbert College.  The Prairie Fire were coming off wins against Bethany Lutheran College at home on January 6 and at Grinnell College on January 8.

The Lady Blues raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes against Knox.  First-year Aly Eastman (Kewanee, IL, Wethersfield) snapped the Illinois College run with a 3-point basket at the 17:11 mark, which kicked off an 11-6 Prairie Fire surge that cut the deficit to 15-11 a little over two minutes later.

IC extended the lead to 30-23 with 11:00 left in the half.  Knox senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) and junior Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) both sank two free throws less than a minute later to trim the Illinois College advantage to three at 30-27.

The Lady Blues scored eight of the next 11 points for a 38-30 lead with 7:40 to go, and the Prairie Fire answered again. 

Sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) connected on a 3-pointer, Heckman converted a conventional 3-point play, Duffy hit a jumper, and junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) capped the flurry with a 3-point bucket to close the gap to 44-41 with 5:38 left.

IC followed with an 8-0 run to push the lead to double-digits at 52-41 with 2:35 remaining.  Knox scored six points the rest of the half and trailed 56-47 at the break.

Illinois College shot 54 percent in the first half and held a 27-9 rebounding advantage, including 12 on the offensive end that helped lead to an 11-0 edge in second chance points.

The Prairie Fire knocked down 42 percent of their shots, including 5-of-14 (36 percent) from 3-point range.  The hosts stayed within striking distance thanks in large part to a 14-of-16 effort at the free throw line.

The Lady Blues began the second half with four straight points to stretch the lead to 60-47.

Knox (3-10, 1-7 MWC) couldn't get any closer than 10 points – the last time at 68-58 on a basket by Blue with 16:10 to go in the contest.

IC put the game out of reach with a 25-9 run over the next six minutes for a 93-67 lead.

The Prairie Fire played without their leading scorer, junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North), who was unavailable because of illness.

Knox shot 40 percent (27-of-68) overall, including 32 percent (9-of-28) from 3-point distance, and went 23-of-31 (74 percent) from the foul line.

IC improved to 57 percent shooting in the second half and finished at 55 percent (43-of-78).  The Lady Blues also sank 28-of-41 (68 percent) free throws in a game that resulted in a combined 55 personal fouls.

Illinois College had a big night on the glass as well, outrebounding the Prairie Fire 53-21.

Duffy led five Knox players in double-figure scoring with a season-high 17 points, which included 13-of-15 from the free throw line.  The 13 made free throws in a game ranks third all-time in Knox women's basketball history.

Heckman added 15 points to go along with team-highs of six rebounds and four assists.  Howard followed with 14 points, senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) 13, and Blue 11.

Hannah McGinnis of IC led all players with 32 points and 18 rebounds.

Knox resumes play on Saturday with a Midwest Conference home game against Carroll University at 3:00 pm. 

The Prairie Fire will try to split the season series with the Pioneers (9-5, 6-3 MWC), who won the first meeting 104-94 in Waukesha, Wis. on January 4.  Carroll defeated Beloit College 76-37 at home on Tuesday night for its second straight win.