Box Score LAKE FOREST, Illinois – A furious rally by the Prairie Fire came up short in a 95-89 Midwest Conference loss to red hot Lake Forest College on Saturday.
The Foresters (11-9, 10-5 MWC) extended their winning streak to seven in a row, but had to hold on for the victory after Knox cut an 18 point deficit to three late in the game. Junior
Saundra Gavazzi (Gilbert, AZ, Chandler) buried a 3-pointer for the Prairie Fire with 24 seconds left to close the gap to 92-89. Lake Forest hit three free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.
Lake Forest scored 11 of the first 13 points and built its biggest lead of the half at 26-13 with 12:20 remaining. Knox (9-11, 7-8 MWC) responded with a 10-2 run, capped by junior
Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) knocking down a 3-point basket that trimmed the deficit to five at the 9:13 mark.
Two free throws gave the Foresters a seven point edge. Senior Jodi Marver scored the first four points of a 9-2 surge by the Prairie Fire that also featured a 3-pointer by sophomore
Molly Lascelles (Ipava, IL, VIT) and a bucket by first-year
Kayla Brown (Roseville, CA, Wilton Christian) and forced a 32-32 tie with 7:26 to go.
Lake Forest regained the lead with a basket about a minute later went into the halftime break up 51-44.
A 10-3 run by the Foresters extended the advantage to 61-44 two minutes into the second half. Knox cut it to nine with 16:26 left, but managed to score only four points over the next five-plus minutes and the Lake Forest lead ballooned to 74-56 with about 10:30 to play.
The Prairie Fire clawed their way back into the game and trailed by just four, 80-76, when junior
Jasmine Binion (Davenport, IA, Assumption) went in for a layup with 4:26 still remaining.
The Foresters, who bumped the lead back up to nine at one point, held a 91-84 advantage when Knox made one last charge.
First-year
Naja Woods (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) connected on a jumper to keep Knox within five, 91-86, with 40 seconds on the clock. Lake Forest added a free throw a few seconds later, and Gavazzi made it a one possession game with her clutch 3-point shot. Knox had to foul to stop the clock, and the Foresters hit two free throws. The Prairie Fire misfired from 3-point range on the next possession and committed another foul. The second of two free throws went down for the hosts and accounted for the final score.
Knox shot 30 percent (27-of-91) overall, including 12-of-51 from 3-point range, and made 23-of-32 free throws. Lake Forest finished at 49 percent (35-of-72) shooting and knocked down 25-of-34 free throws.
Marver was 13-of-16 from the foul line and scored a team-high 22 points for the Prairie Fire. Woods also scored in double-figures with 13 points and Binion chipped in with 10.
Danielle Canulli scored a game-high 35 points for the Foresters.
Knox returns home from a three-game road trip to face Midwest Conference leader St. Norbert College next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
