JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Sophomore Bria Medina scored 21 points for the second straight game and her cousin, junior Kylee Callahan, had her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Knox College women's basketball team handled host Illinois College on Wednesday evening at Sherman Gymnasium, 70-52.

The Prairie Fire (15-9, 10-5 MWC) moved a step closer to securing their spot at the Midwest Conference Tournament next week but will need to beat Cornell College on the road on Saturday to guarantee their berth. The season came to a close for the Lady Blues as they finish the season 10-15 overall and 7-9 in the league.

While the first quarter was very much a back-and-forth affair with six lead changes and three ties, the second quarter is when Knox took control, opening up the period on a 17-2 run to take a 14-point lead, 33-19. Medina provided a trio of layups, fifth-year Haylee Carpenter hit the Prairie Fire's first of five 3-pointers on the night and first-year Nayeli Nidez Acuña capped the stretch with her second layup.

Illinois College responded with seven straight points only to have Knox score on a Callahan jumper in the paint before senior Brianna Arizmendi hit a long 3-pointer — the first of her career — at the buzzer for a 38-26 advantage at the intermission.

After outscoring the Lady Blues by a 22-9 margin in the second quarter, the Prairie Fire continued to pour it on after the break, enjoying a 20-8 margin in the third quarter. Eight of those 20 points came at the foul line with Medina and Callahan each scoring three-point plays during the 18-4 spurt to end the period. Armed with a 24-point lead entering the final 10 minutes, head coach Seth McDowell rested the starters over the final six minutes with the outcome secure.

• The Knox defense held Illinois College to 25.7 percent on field goals (19-of-74) and 12.5 percent from the perimeter (3-of-24); the Prairie Fire are 12-1 this season when their opponent shoots under 40 percent.
• Medina, who is four points away from 900 for her career, was a perfect 9-of-9 at the line with Knox going 13-of-14 (.923) as a team.
• Callahan ended the game one point shy of 1,000 for her career, a milestone only four other Prairie Fire players have reached, none of whom was a junior.
• Arizmendi finished the game with seven points, a career high for the defensive specialist.
• Illinois College played most of the game without two of its top three scorers — seniors Anna McKee and Ashlyn Wightman — who left the game in the first quarter with separate injuries.

Knox and Cornell College (13-10, 9-6 MWC) will clash on Saturday in Mount Vernon, Iowa, at the Small Athletic and Wellness Center. A Prairie Fire win guarantees the fourth seed — as does a loss combined with a Lawrence win at Ripon — at the MWC Tournament, hosted by Ripon College on Feb. 28 and March 1. But if Lawrence loses to the Red Hawks and the Rams beat Knox, the final berth will be determined by a coin flip. The fateful game will tip off at 1 p.m. with a live stream and stats available for the game through the official website of Knox College athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.