LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Sophomore Bria Medina dropped a short hook shot through with 1.8 seconds to play, lifting visiting Knox College to an 80-78 victory over Lake Forest College at the Sport & Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon. The bucket counted for the last two of Medina's game-high 23 points as the Prairie Fire (11-6, 6-2 Midwest Conference) survived a furious rally over the final five minutes by the Foresters (3-14, 2-7 MWC).
When fifth-year Haylee Carpenter scored on a putback with 4:52 to play, Knox held a 13-point lead, 74-61, and seemed to be in complete control. But the next seven possessions produced no points with three missed shots and four turnovers. Meanwhile, Lake Forest took advantage of the Prairie Fire drought, scoring 15 straight points, capped by a 3-pointer by Careah Baitlon to put the Foresters on top, 76-74.
Fifth-year Sarina Dacio ended the run by hitting the first of two free throws. When second attempt was off the mark, Lake Forest got the rebound but turned it over while falling out of bounds. That gave first-year Nayeli Nidez Acuña an opening to score on a short jumper in the lane and get fouled for a three-point play and a two-point lead, 78-76.
Both teams suffered turnovers, after which Rebecca Christodoulou, who led the Foresters with 18 points, drove the lane and tied the game with a layup with 15 seconds remaining. That merely set up Medina's heroics in the final seconds as Knox won its sixth straight game.
The first quarter very much resembled the first matchup between the two teams two-and-a-half weeks ago when the Prairie Fire put up 119 points and set a school record for field goal percentage. Knox put 30 points on the board and enjoyed an 11-point advantage when the quarter came to a close with Medina providing eight points to lead the charge.
Nothing went right in the second quarter for Knox, however, with the Foresters holding them to a mere eight points. The Prairie Fire hit just two of their last 10 field goal attempts and all five foul shots in the final 7:44, allowing Lake Forest to roar back and take the lead into the locker room, 41-38, thanks to a 17-4 run to end the half.
Knox was still down two, 54-52, with 2:20 to go in the third quarter when it rattled off the final seven points and the first nine of the fourth quarter for a 16-0 run and its largest lead of the game, 68-54. It wasn't much longer until Lake Forest rallied to take the lead and set up the winning Prairie Fire run.
- Medina hit her first five shots in the game and ended the day 9-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-8 at the line for her fifth 20-point game of the season and 11th of her career.
- Nidez Acuña added 17 points and Dacio 10 to bolster the Knox offense.
- The Prairie Fire struggled shooting behind lines, hitting just 4-of-17 (.235) from the perimeter and 14-of-25 (season-low .560) at the foul line for a team ranked 22nd nationally in free throw percentage.
- Five Foresters reached double figures, led by Christodoulou's double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
- Knox won the battle of the boards, 47-37, led by senior Brianna Arizmendi with nine.
The Prairie Fire will be back at Memorial Gym on Tuesday, Jan. 28, when they host Grinnell College (11-7, 5-4 MWC), which suffered a three-point loss at league-leading Ripon today. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. with a live stream and stats available for the game through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College athletics.
