GALESBURG, Ill. — Sophomore Bria Medina led three Knox College players in double figures with 18 points as the Prairie Fire (10-6, 5-2 Midwest Conference) defeated Cornell College (10-6, 6-2 MWC) — one of the three teams tied for first in the league standings when the night began — by a final of 64-60 at Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday evening. The victory was the fifth straight for Knox, matching its longest from last season.
Fifth-year Sarina Dacio added 16 points with four 3-pointers to the Knox offense while first-year Nayeli Nidez Acuña chipped in 14 point to help the Prairie Fire win the defensive struggle. Both teams shot just above 30 percent from the floor, and the 64 points are the fewest produced in over six weeks by the Knox team ranked 11th in scoring in the nation.
Points were especially difficult to come by in the opening half with the Fire holding a one-point lead, 25-24, at the intermission. Knox led predominantly throughout the first quarter, save for a moment when a 3-pointers by Tenley Cavanaugh gave the Rams an 8-7 advantage. A pair of Heidi Jorgensen long balls to start the second quarter turned a one-point Cornell deficit into a sudden five-point advantage.
Sophomore Leah Schoonover answered back a 3-pointer of her own, but those were the only points for either team during a four-minute stretch. It wasn't until Schoonover dropped her third triple of the game with 1:26 left in the half that Knox was able to reclaim the lead, which held until the horn sounded, sending the teams to their respective locker room to strategize on how to generate more offense.
And with the teams combining to score one more point in the third quarter than the entire first half, those discussions proved fruitful. The Prairie Fire tallied 27 during the 10 minutes while the Rams had 23. The lead bulged to as many as 10 for the Prairie Fire before settling at five a 52-47 with the fourth quarter still to come.
The defense tightened at that point as Cornell was held without a point for nearly the first four minutes of the period. A Dacio trey and a Medina driving layup boosted the difference back to 10, only to have the Rams embark on a seven-point run to get right back into the game, 57-54. But Medina drilled a 3-pointer from the corner in front of her bench, which seemed to take the air out of the Rams as they mustered only a single free throw until the final 10 seconds when the game was in hand.
- Three Knox players had seven rebounds — Nidez Acuña, Medina and senior Brianna Arizmendi — while junior Kylee Callahan dished out five assists, keeping her on pace to break both the program's single-season and career assist records.
- Cornell was led by its first-year star, Erin Knowles, with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
- Both teams attempted at least half of their shots from behind the arc with Knox knocking down 9-of-34 (.265) and the Rams not much better at 9-of-31 (.290).
- Despite Cornell having a distinct height advantage, the rebounds almost played even in favor of the Rams, 45-42.
- Knox has won the last six meetings with Cornell after dropping 20 of the previous 23.
The Prairie Fire get back on the road for a rematch with Lake Forest College (3-13, 2-6 MWC) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Sports & Recreation Center. Knox ran way from the Foresters in the first meeting two and a half weeks ago, 119-85. 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.
