RIPON, Wisconsin - The Prairie Fire women's basketball team defeated Cornell 77-54 in the semifinal game of the Midwest Conference Tournament on Friday night.

Knox held a narrow 10-9 lead with 2:44 remaining in the first quarter, but a pair of three-pointers by Haylee Carpenter helped Knox finish the period with a seven point lead.

The Prairie Fire added to their lead in the second quarter, building up a 34-21 lead with 1:53 left before halftime. Cornell used a 9-2 run to close out the half to trail by just six.

Knox scored the first eight points of the second half to build up another double-digit lead, which they kept for most of the third quarter. The Prairie Fire closed out the third period with a 53-42 lead.

The Prairie Fire really began pulling away in the fourth quarter and outscored the Rams 24-12 to cruise to victory.

Carpenter led Knox with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from long-range. Kristin Herndon added 16 points on a 7-of-11 shooting performance. Catessa Duran racked up 12 points and 10 rebounds to pick up a double-double. Juliana Vinluan used an efficient 5-of-6 showing to tally 10 points.

"Cornell played really well for three quarters and kept us on our toes," said head coach Kira Mowen. "We were able to wear them down in the end, but now our focus is on Ripon. We will prepare as much as we can tonight and tomorrow morning for our third matchup with them this season."

Knox will battle the Redhawks at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow for the championship game.