GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire women's basketball team played at home against Illinois College on Wednesday evening with the Prairie Fire looking to improve upon their 9-2 record at home.
With only one conference game remaining after tonight, this was a big game for the Fire. The seniors opened up the scoring with a layup by Morgan Potter followed by a three-pointer by Karlie Thorn. The Prairie Fire were on fire offensively and stifling on defense. At the end of the first, the score was 25-4. It was simply a dominant first quarter for Knox.
Illinois College showed a little fight in the second quarter, but the Prairie Fire overwhelmed them. Jarrelyn McCall led the Fire with 12 points and three steals in the first. Karlie Thorn added 11 in the first two quarters. Kyra Huffman was on double-double watch as she amassed eight points and six rebounds before the intermission.
The lead in the second half would only get down to as low as 19 as the Prairie Fire dominated this game. Strong defense has been the theme of the season for the Fire, and that continued today as the Fire held Illinois College to 37.1% shooting.
Today was also a big day as Thorn became the Prairie Fire's career leader in three-point field goals made with 178.
"I am very proud of this achievement," said Thorn. "It would not have been possible without a lot of hard work and my wonderful teammates, coaches, and supporters who helped me along the way."
Thorn finished the game with a game-high 23 points thanks to her 5-for-9 performance from long-range. McCall added 18 points while Morgan Potter poured in 14. Huffman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.
"I am very proud of Karlie for breaking and setting the new career record," said head coach Emily Cline. "She has put a lot of hard work in the last four years and she is deserving of the honor."
With just a game remaining, this game was a necessity for the Prairie Fire. The team is currently tied with St. Norbert for the fourth place spot in the standings.
"We came ready to play today," added Cline. "We had a great first quarter and we were able to maintain our lead throughout. I thought we played well on both ends of the floor today.
The Prairie Fire finish off the regular season at home against Ripon College on Saturday.
