GRINNELL, Iowa—The Knox College Prairie Fire women's basketball team notched another conference win again this Saturday, this time against the Grinnell College Pioneers by a score of 53-35. Despite the game being low-scoring for both sides, the Prairie Fire appeared to be in control throughout the game. Knox's defense was again their biggest strength, using strong play from their guards to silence the Pioneer offensive threat from the perimeter.
The first half began as a close affair between the two teams. Knox struggled shooting in the beginning, as they only went 9-for-27 from the field. Fortunately for the Prairie Fire, their defense was not sluggish at all, and held Grinnell to an almost identical shooting line of 10-for-27, including allowing them to only shoot 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. Despite ending the first quarter tied 16-16, Knox's defense was on top of their game in the second quarter, forcing many of Grinnell's misses and holding them to only seven points. Kyra Huffman had a big impact in the first half, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds to help lead Knox to a four point lead at halftime.
As good as Knox's defense was in the beginning of the game, they were on a different level in the second half. They simply overwhelmed the Pioneer offense with their physicality, leading to the Pioneers only shooting 14.3% from the field and 0-for-16 from three. This resulted in Grinnell scoring only 12 points total in the second half. On the other end, the Knox offense spread the ball around in order to score their buckets, as no player scored more than four points. Taking more time during their possessions proved beneficial for Knox, as their shooting improved from the first half. All of these factors led to a comfortable victory for the Prairie Fire, improving their record to 6-3 on the season.
"I was really proud of our defensive effort today," said head coach Emily Cline. "Holding a team to 12 points in a half is a very solid defensive effort."
Knox takes a break from conference play their next two games as they travel to play Pomona-Pitzer on December 12th, followed by California Lutheran the next day.
