Box Score

De Pere, Wis. – The Prairie Fire came up short in a bid to knock off St. Norbert College in back-to-back seasons.

In a game that featured the top offensive and defensive teams in the Midwest Conference, the Green Knights defeated Knox 110-76 to maintain their share of the MWC lead with Cornell College.  The game was the only one between Knox and St. Norbert during the 2013-14 campaign.

The Prairie Fire downed SNC 79-68 at Memorial Gym on January 26, 2013.  The win was the first for Knox against the Knights after 29 consecutive losses dating back to the 1983-84 season.

The Prairie Fire entered Saturday's game ranked #4 in NCAA D-III in scoring offense, averaging 86.7 points.  On the other hand, St. Norbert held the #2 national ranking in scoring defense, surrendering only 49.0 points per contest.

Knox got on the board first when senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) scored 14 seconds into the contest.  The Green Knights answered with an 8-0 surge for a six point lead at the 18:02 mark.  Theisen stopped the run with her second field goal of the game 45 seconds later.

St. Norbert (14-4, 12-2 MWC) scored four straight points to grab a 12-4 lead before sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) connected on a 3-point shot to close the gap to 12-7 with 16:28 remaining.

The Knights extended their lead to 16-7, but junior Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) – like Blue did moments earlier – sank a 3-pointer to close the gap to six with about 15:00 left in the first half.

St. Norbert made its move after Theisen scored again to keep Knox close at 18-12.  The Green Knights ran off 12 unanswered points to build their advantage to 30-12 with just under 11:00 to play before halftime.

The Prairie Fire responded with five consecutive points – a trey by junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) and a pair of free throws by Duffy – and trailed by 13 with 9:46 to go.

Theisen added two more of her 10 first half points to whittle the SNC advantage to a dozen, 35-23, with 8:30 left in the half.  But St. Norbert snatched the momentum with a 9-1 run that resulted in a 44-24 lead 2:30 later.

Knox faced its biggest deficit at 56-32 before scoring the final four points of the half on a free throw by junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) and a 3-pointer by Howard, and trailed by 20 at the break.

The Prairie Fire made 11-of-32 (34 percent) shots in the first half, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and hit 10-of-14 free throws.  The Green Knights connected on 22-of-37 (59.5 percent) shot attempts and drained 12-of-16 foul shots.  St. Norbert also forced Knox into 16 first half turnovers while committing 11.

Theisen continued her strong offensive play with a bucket to begin the second half for the Prairie Fire.  The Green Knights scored the next four points, and then first-year Aly Eastman (Kewanee, IL, Wethersfield) sank two free throws to keep Knox within 20 points of the hosts at 60-40 a little over a minute into the second frame.

The Green Knights put together another big run over the next five minutes to seal the victory.

St. Norbert led 62-42 after Blue made a jumper for the Prairie Fire with about 18:30 to play.  The Knights scored 15 of the next 17 points for a 77-44 lead with 14:03 left in the game.

Knox (4-13, 2-10 MWC) never got closer than 28 points the rest of the way.

The Prairie Fire finished 22-of-64 (34 percent) shooting the basketball, which included just 2-of-16 in the second half from 3-point distance and 6-of-26 (23 percent) from long range overall.  Knox had a good game at the free throw line, netting 26-of-32 (81 percent) attempts – a season-best percentage.

St. Norbert cooled off to 46.5 percent shooting in the second half but still wound up 42-of-80 (52.5 percent) while sinking 26-of-38 (68 percent) foul shots.

The Prairie Fire, forcing opponents into nearly 27 turnovers a game, had a difficult time handling the basketball.  Knox turned it over 32 times – a season-high – while causing 26 St. Norbert miscues.  The Green Knights held a big edge in points off of turnovers, outscoring the Prairie Fire 48-18.

St. Norbert also outrebounded Knox 55-34.

The 186 combined points are the most ever in a game involving St. Norbert College, according to the school's sports information department.  The previous high was 178 points against Illinois College in 2003.

The 76 points by the Prairie Fire are the most given up by the Green Knights this season.

Theisen, who made 9-of-10 field goal attempts, led Knox in scoring with a career-high 22 points.  Blue also reached double-figures with 12 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.  Marver added nine points, five rebounds, and three steals.  Howard also had nine points while Duffy scored seven points and dished out five assists.

Heidi Van Sistine of St. Norbert led everyone with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

The Prairie Fire, after three straight road games, return home to face Grinnell College on Wednesday.

Knox looks to sweep the season series against the Pioneers after winning 104-99 at Grinnell on January 8.  Grinnell (2-16, 1-12 MWC) fell 73-44 at Lake Forest College on Saturday, the team's fourth straight loss and ninth in the last 10 games.

The Prairie Fire's game against the Pioneers is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed live online at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/knox.portal#/