Box Score MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – A big second half surge lifted host Cornell College past the Prairie Fire 106-69 in Midwest Conference play on Wednesday.
Knox (9-10, 7-7 MWC) was looking to extend its longest winning streak since 2001 to four games and pull even with the Rams in the MWC standings. But a 17-6 run by Cornell during a nearly seven minute stretch extended a 10 point lead over the Prairie Fire to 69-48 with about 13:00 to play.
The Rams (11-8, 9-5 MWC) had their potent inside-outside combination clicking as senior all-conference players Taylor Dicus and Rikki Mulloy combined to score 50 points. The duo connected on 20-of-28 shot attempts, including a 6-of-11 effort by Mulloy from 3-point range. Dicus pulled down 17 rebounds.
Knox held its only lead at 3-2 on a 3-pointer by senior
Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) that followed two missed free throws and a pair of offensive rebounds in the first 30 seconds of the game. A bucket by Cornell one minute in sparked a 15-1 run that gave the hosts a 17-4 advantage at the 15:24 mark.
The Prairie Fire scored their first basket in four minutes when first-year
Naja Woods (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) found sophomore
Aly Eastman (Kewanee, IL, Wethersfield) for a long-range jumper that cut the deficit to 10.
The Rams, after extending the lead to 19-7, committed two straight turnovers that the Prairie Fire converted into five points. A layup by senior
Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) and a traditional 3-point play by fellow senior
Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) brought Knox back to within seven, 19-12, with 14:00 remaining.
Mulloy answered with a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to keep Cornell in front by double-digits. The Prairie Fire got within nine on three occasions in the first ten minutes of the game. A 3-point basket by junior
Saundra Gavazzi (Gilbert, AZ, Chandler) and a basket inside by Duffy sliced a 14 point advantage by the Rams to 29-20.
Cornell scored six unanswered points in less than a minute and stretched the lead to 15, the largest of the game.
Knox stormed back with a 14-0 surge that began with a layup by first-year
Erin Orr (Chicago, IL, Oak Park-River Forest) and was capped by junior
Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) netting a 3-point shot to close the gap to one, 35-34, with 5:48 left in the half.
A pair of free throws by the Rams halted the run by the Prairie Fire and kicked off another wave of points. When the dust settled, Cornell built the lead to 46-34 and held Knox scoreless for close to four minutes.
Howard snapped the run by knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:28 to go. The Rams extended the margin to 50-37 before Woods scored on a drive to the basket to close out the first half.
The Prairie Fire got as close as 10 early in the second half before Cornell pulled away. The Rams led 79-54 with 10:04 left and ballooned to 41 twice inside of five minutes.
Knox shot 30 percent (25-of-83) overall and 12-of-45 from behind the 3-point line while hitting only 7-of-18 free throws in the game.
Cornell finished at 49 percent (40-of-81) from the field and buried 11-of-24 beyond the arc. The Rams were efficient at the stripe as well, sinking 15-of-19, and held a big 70-37 rebounding edge.
Marver led the Prairie Fire in scoring with 12 points. She also had four steals and two blocks. Blue also reached double-figure points with 10 to go with a team-high five rebounds.
Knox will try to regroup at Lake Forest College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The Foresters (10-9, 9-5 MWC) have won six consecutive games and sit in third place with Cornell and Illinois College in the Midwest Conference standings.
