GALESBURG, Ill. โ After going into halftime with a slim 37-35 lead, the Knox College women's basketball team was unable to keep the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater โ ranked 10th nationally in the Division III coaches' poll โ at bay as the Warhawks (6-1) rallied to defeat the Prairie Fire (3-6) on a snowy, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium, 77-66. Miscues proved costly for Knox as UW-Whitewater forced 23 turnovers and turned them into 26 points.
Renee Rittmeyer led UW-Whitewater with 20 points, one of four Warhawks to score in double figures, while Knox was paced by the nation's third-leading scorer, junior Bria Medina, also with 20 points, and senior Kylee Callahan with 19.
The game began as well as the Prairie Fire could have hoped as they jumped out to a 13-3 lead, hitting every shot in the run that lasted just over two minutes. But UWW stormed right back with 13-point run of its own, during which Knox turned the ball over eight times. But by the end of the half, the game was all tied at 17 thanks to a pair of buckets from sophomore Nayeli Nidez Acuña.
The second quarter also started nicely for Knox with sophomore Izzy Robinson getting things started with a 3-pointer. The Prairie Fire quickly built up a five-point lead, which they held until under four minutes remained until the intermission. That's when the Warhawks ripped off nine straight points to take a 32-28 lead as they once again tightened up their defense. Medina ended that spurt with a trifecta, jump-starting a 9-3 run to end the half that she finished off with a layup in the final seconds the two-point edge at the break.
Again Knox built up an early five-point lead in the third quarter, 43-38, and after UWW came back to go up by one, Callahan put the Fire back on top with a layup to make it a 46-45 contest. That turned out to be Knox's last lead as the Warhawks went on another run, this one a modest eight points, capped by a pair of Rittmeyer free throws.
Callahan provided another bucket to close the gap to six, 54-48, with 2:48 left in the quarter, but that was a close as Knox would get the rest of the game, though there was still a chance of a comeback when junior Brook Pieper scored on a layup with 2:02 to play, making it a 70-62 game. The two teams traded baskets, but UWW was able to run out the clock.
- Not only did the Warhawks have a 26-6 advantage in points scored off turnovers, but it was also 23-of-30 (.767) at the foul line compared to just 10-of-19 (.526) for the Fire, though Medina hit all seven of her free throw attempts.
- Medina has scored at least 20 points in each of the nine Knox games this season.
- Callahan broke a bit of a shooting slump by connecting on 9-of-14 (.643) field goals.
- Senior and Galesburg native Carly Smith led Knox with nine rebounds, helping the team hold a 41-38 edge on the boards.
- Whitewater shot just 38.1 percent from the floor (24-of-63) while the Prairie Fire were at 48.2 percent (27-of-56).
- This was just the second meeting ever between the two schools on the hardwood, both of which UWW has won in the past two seasons.
Knox will get a break from the wintry weather in the area for its next two games as the team travels to Hawaii for the Hoops in Hawai'i Classic on Dec 21-22. The Prairie Fire will be paired up against Albion College (7-1) on the first day at 1:15 p.m. (HST), and Linfield University (5-2) the following day at 3:30 p.m. local time. The games will be streamed live with stats available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics, courtesy of the tournament host, Hawaii Pacific University.
