Box Score

Monmouth, Ill. – The Prairie Fire fell short in their bid for a third straight victory at Monmouth College on Tuesday.

The Fighting Scots on their Senior Night halted the Knox winning streak at two while extending their own to six in a 109-87 Midwest Conference win.

Monmouth (17-4, 13-3 MWC), which clinched a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament, led 23-13 nearly five minutes into the game.  The Prairie Fire responded with 13 straight points -- six coming on a pair of treys by first-year Molly Lascelles (Ipava, IL, VIT) -- to go up 26-23 at the 12:31 mark.  A 3-point basket by senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) pushed the advantage to five (29-24) 28 seconds later.

The Fighting Scots came back with a 13-2 run to reclaim the lead at 37-31 with 6:48 remaining in the first half.  Knox tied the game at 38 on a 3-pointer by junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) with 4:58 to play before the break.

Monmouth held a two point lead when junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) buried a triple and senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) scored from inside to put the Prairie Fire (6-14, 4-11 MWC) back on top 43-40 a minute later.  The Fighting Scots answered with a 6-0 spurt and took the lead for good at 46-43.

Monmouth led by as many as seven at 54-47, but Knox scored five straight points on a jumper by Marver, two free throws by Howard, and a free throw by sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) to close the gap to two. 

The Fighting Scots held the Prairie Fire to a free throw over the remaining 1:19 and led 57-53 at halftime. 

The lead changed hands six times and the teams were tied on three occasions in the first half.

Knox shot 46 percent and knocked down nine 3-pointers but sank just 10-of-21 free throws in the opening stanza.  Monmouth connected on 48 percent from the field and made three more foul shots in the same number of attempts as the Prairie Fire.

The Scots scored six consecutive points to begin the second half for a 63-53 lead.  A 3-pointer by Marver on the next Knox possession cut the deficit to seven, but Monmouth took control with a 10-1 run over the next four minutes for a 73-57 advantage.

A 3-point bucket by Heckman cut the lead by the hosts to 13, but it grew to 20 with 10:00 left and the Prairie Fire weren't able to get any closer the rest of the way.

Knox cooled off to 26 percent shooting in the second half and finished at 37 percent.  The Prairie Fire hit 14 3-point baskets and wound up 23-of-39 (59 percent) from the foul line.

Monmouth hit 55 percent from the field after halftime and 51 percent overall.  The Scots outscored Knox 52-34 in the second half.  While the Prairie Fire did the bulk of their scoring from the outside, Monmouth dominated inside.  The Fightings Scots had a 54-18 scoring advantage in the paint and a 68-32 rebounding edge.

Marver led the Fire with 16 points.  Heckman added 15 points, five rebounds, and three steals.  Blue also scored 15.

Kaley Corban scored 21 points for Monmouth.

The Fighting Scots defeated Knox 102-83 at Memorial Gym on December 10 and swept the season series.

The Prairie Fire will try to start another winning streak when Beloit College visits Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday.  The teams will tip off at 1:00 p.m. during Knox College Basketball Homecoming 2014.