Box Score
GALESBURG, Illinois – The Prairie Fire carried a late first half run into the second half and defeated Rockford University 113-70 Tuesday night at Memorial Gym.

The win is the second straight for Knox, which trailed the Regents by as many as 12 points in the first half.  The game was tied four times in the first 10 minutes of play before Rockford built its biggest lead, 37-25, with 6:30 left in the opening half.

A basket by sophomore Molly Lascelles (Ipava, IL, VIT) capped a 15-2 run that put the Prairie Fire on top 40-39 with 3:10 remaining.  Rockford connected on two straight shots to regain a three point edge, 43-40, but it didn't last long.

Senior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 43, and a basket by senior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) off a steal by junior Jasmine Binion (Davenport, IA, Assumption) gave Knox the lead for good.  Both buckets were part of a 14-2 run over the remaining 2:19 of the first half that pushed the Prairie Fire lead to 54-45 at the break.

Knox (2-1) opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Marver and a jumper by junior Saundra Gavazzi (Gilbert, AZ, Chandler) to extend the advantage to 59-45.  The Regents (0-3) cut the deficit to 12 twice, the last time at 61-49 with about 18:30 to play.  The Prairie Fire used a 12-1 surge over the next five minutes to extend to a 73-50 advantage.

The lead grew to 95-65 on a 3-pointer by first-year Kayla Brown (Roseville, CA, Wilton Christian).  A basket by senior Nadia Tapfumaneyi (Harare, Zimbabwe, SOS-Hermann Gmeiner) with one minute remaining gave Knox a 40 point cushion.

The Prairie Fire outscored Rockford 59-25 in the second half.  The Regents shot 38 percent overall – only 27 percent in the second half – and committed 38 turnovers.  Knox finished at 44 percent shooting and drained 12 baskets from 3-point range.

Fifteen players scored for the Prairie Fire, led by Marver with 22 points.  She also had a game-high seven assists.  Gavazzi added 15 points, Howard had 12, and Lascelles had 11.

The win by Knox avenged a 118-96 loss at Rockford last season.

The 113 points scored by the Prairie Fire was just one point away from the school record set in a 114-100 victory against Beloit College on January 21, 2012 at Memorial Gym.  The 43-point margin of victory is the largest since an 88-20 win at Lincoln Christian College on January 26, 2010.

The Prairie Fire resume play at Fontbonne University on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.  The Griffins (1-1) opened the season with a 73-70 loss at Illinois College last Wednesday and then defeated St. Mary of the Woods College on the road 98-87 last Saturday.

Knox won the last meeting with Fontbonne 73-54 on December 19, 2012 in Daytona Beach, Florida.