GALESBURG, Ill. — With the score tied at 42 at halftime, the Knox College women's basketball team came out of the locker room and took control of the game and surged to an 84-69 victory over visiting Illinois College in a Midwest Conference showdown against the Lady Blues (5-11, 2-5 MWC) on Tuesday evening at Memorial Gymnasium. First-year Nayeli Nidez Acuña led the Prairie Fire (8-6, 3-2 MWC) with a season-high 26 points while fifth-year Sarina Dacio added 20 more with five triples.

The second half didn't begin well for Knox, however, as the Lady Blues came out firing with a 3-pointer and a short jumper in the paint to take a quick five-point lead. Acuña stemmed the tide quickly with back-to-back buckets and scored the next four points as well on a three-point play and the second of two free throws, tying the game at 50.

After the two teams traded baskets, scored six straight points, capped by a baseline jumper by senior Brianna Arizmendi. The lead was still six points when Dacio drained one of her long balls to give the Prairie Fire a 65-56 advantage. Both teams sank two free throws before Nidez Acuña capped her 13-point quarter with three more the hard way. Illinois College would not relent, though, sinking a 3-pointer before the period ended to make it a 70-61 contest.

The pace slowed in the fourth quarter as the Knox defense held Illinois College scoreless for a five-minute stretch and surrendered just eight points to secure the victory.

The first two quarters were tight throughout, though the Prairie Fire led by as many as seven in the opening period, only to then fail to score over the final four minutes as the Lady Blues rallied to knot the game at 17.  Both teams led by five in the second stanza at one point, but by the time intermission arrived, the game was deadlocked once again at 42.

• Nidez Acuña finished the night 11-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the line to post her fourth 20-point game.
• Dacio was 5-of-8 behind the arc, and since starting the year 1-of-17 from the perimeter, she has connected on 29-of-65 of her 3-point attempts (.446).
• Sophomore point guard Bria Medina narrowly missed out on her third career double-double with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds; her other two double-doubles coincidentally came against Illinois College last year.
• Medina and junior Kylee Callahan dished out seven assists apiece, while the Prairie Fire defense swiped the ball a season-high 17 times (their most against a Midwest Conference opponent in five years), led by Arizmendi with a season-high six steals.
• Knox has won its last three games, its longest streak in almost a full year.
• Jalyn Patterson scored a career-high 27 points for the Lady Blues.

Following a perfect three-game home stand, the Prairie Fire will next play on the road at Beloit College (2-14, 1-6 MWC) on Saturday, Jan. 18 at Flood Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. with a live stream and live stats available for the game through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College athletics.