RIPON, Wisconsin—The Prairie Fire women's basketball team fell to conference leader Ripon 76-64 on Saturday afternoon. Knox will return to Ripon next Friday for a rematch with the Red Hawks in the first round of the Midwest Conference Tournament.

Ripon jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in the first quarter and built up an 18-10 lead by the end of the period.

Much of the second quarter was back and forth with the Red Hawks leading by as many as 10 in the early going. Knox pulled to within four, but Ripon quickly built back up to a 14 point lead and led 38-28 at the half.

The Red Hawks pulled ahead a bit more to begin the second half, but Knox quickly worked back to just a two point deficit with 6:28 on the clock. The Prairie Fire tied the game at 42-all at the 3:58 mark and took a 43-42 lead soon after. Ripon leapt back up to a 10 point and lead in the last few minutes and took a 53-45 lead into the final period.

The fourth quarter was more of the same as Ripon again took a double digit lead, but Knox worked back to a three point deficit with 4:26 to play. The Red Hawks would stop the comeback attempt in its tracks and once again take a double digit lead in the final minutes.

Jarrelyn McCall led Knox with 27 points. She was 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Kyra Huffman added 15 points, six rebounds, and four blocks.

"We played hard the entire game," said head coach Emily Cline. "We had Ripon on the ropes for a good portion of the game, but they were able to withstand our runs. They are a very good team and I am excited to get a rematch with them next week."

The Midwest Conference Tournament will begin on February 28 at Ripon.