PELLA, Iowa—The Prairie Fire women's basketball team defeated Central 81-72 on the road on Saturday afternoon.
 
Knox led 24-18 after the first quarter and expanded their lead to 10 early in the second quarter. However, the Dutch closed out the half with an 18-8 run to knot the score at 42-42 at halftime.
 
The third quarter was back-and-forth, with neither team taking a lead of more than four points. The teams were tied 60-60 heading into the final quarter.
 
Central began pulling away early in the fourth quarter, but the Prairie Fire bounced back quickly to tie the game up at 69-69. Knox took the lead for good with 2:00 to play and used hot shooting and a 4-for-4 showing from the free throw line to finish strong for the win.
 
NaKeva Mack led Knox with 19 points. She added seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals to fill up the stat sheet. Catessa Duran knocked down 17 points and Kyra Huffman added a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Jarrelyn McCall finished with 13 points as well.
 
"We really turned it on in the fourth quarter," said head coach Emily Cline. "We showed another gear after losing the lead in our first two games. We showed a lot more of what we are capable of today."
 
Knox returns home on November 20 as they host Iowa Wesleyan.