GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire women's basketball team looked like it had their work cut out for them in the first quarter against Beloit on Friday night. Knox (9-5, 4-2 MWC) put those fears to bed by outscoring the Buccaneers 42-12 over the next two quarters to cruise to a 70-46 victory.

The Prairie Fire trailed 5-0 in the early going, but quickly battled back to a 6-5 lead midway through the first stanza. Knox jumped out to a seven-point lead, but Beloit hit two straight jumpers to pull back within three. Knox led just 18-15 after the first quarter, but Beloit hit a trey early in the second quarter to knot the score up at 18-all. The Prairie Fire then went on a 17-2 run to close out the half and led 35-20 by halftime. The third quarter was more of the same with Knox building up a 33-point lead by the end of the period. In the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers outscored the Prairie Fire but it was too late to make any significant headway.

Hailey Leinart led a balanced scoring attack for Knox finishing with12 points. Jarrelyn McCall added 11 points and five assists and Karlie Thorn poured in 10 points. Kyra Huffman nearly finished with a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing 10 boards. Shaprice Hunt finished with a career-high nine points off the bench.

The Prairie Fire return to action on January 13 when they host Lake Forest for basketball homecoming.