Haylee Carpenter
Aidan McMurtrie
Fifth-year Haylee Carpenter hit a clutch 3-pointer with 15.9 seconds left.
74
Knox KC 12-8,7-4 Midwest Conference
76
Winner Lawrence LU 16-5,10-2 Midwest Conference
Knox KC
12-8,7-4 Midwest Conference
74
Final
76
Lawrence LU
16-5,10-2 Midwest Conference
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Knox KC 14 14 22 24 74
Lawrence LU 15 14 25 22 76

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Tough Loss in Final Seconds at Lawrence

Haylee Carpenter gave Knox a one-point lead with 15.9 seconds, but the Vikings hit 3-of-4 at the line to steal the victory

APPLETON, Wis. — In a game with big implications for the Midwest Conference Tournament, Knox College could not get its last-second shot to fall as host Lawrence University hung on to defeat the Prairie Fire at Alexander Gymnasium on Wednesday evening, 76-74. Mallory Meyer had a career-high 24 points for the Vikings (16-5, 10-2 MWC) while sophomore Bria Medina led Knox (12-8, 7-4 MWC) with 20 points.

Knox had trailed by two, 73-71, and took the lead on a 3-pointer by fifth-year Haylee Carpenter — her fourth triple of the night — with 15.9 seconds remaining. But Sophie Morey was fouled going to the rim, and she converted both free throws to put Lawrence back on top, 75-74.

After a timeout, the Prairie Fire inbounded the ball in front of their bench, but the pass was stolen, leading to another foul that sent Morey to the line once again. While she hit the first of two foul shots, her second one was off the mark, and Knox gained possession with 6.6 seconds left. Again the Fire inbounded from in front of their bench after their last timeout, and a contested 3-point attempt just before the buzzer failed to fall through, allowing the Vikings to maintain their stranglehold on second place in the standings.

The game was played evenly throughout the four quarters, as neither side could open up a double-digit lead at any point with the lead changing hands 10 times. Lawrence led throughout the first quarter, though it was up just 15-14 after 10 minutes. Knox grabbed the lead briefly twice in the second quarter but still trailed by a point at the intermission, 29-28.

The Vikings threatened to run away in the third quarter, going up 48-39 on a bucket by Maggie Culver (13 points), but the Fire closed the gap back to four at the end of the period. And in the final stanza, Knox started off on a 17-6 run, with nine points courtesy of Medina, to quickly take a seven-point lead, 67-60, with 6:17 to play. That advantage dwindled quickly, however, as Lawrence roared back with a 9-1 spurt of its own. The lead changed hands twice before Carpenter's big shot, yet Knox was unable to come away with a big road victory.

  • The two teams split the series; the Prairie Fire defeated the Vikings in Galesburg back in December, 74-58.
  • Knox hit a season-high 10 trifectas with its best efficiency this year (50 percent), but it lost the battle on the boards, 43-29, with two Vikings hauling in 10 rebounds, including Culver who registered a double-double.
  • All 12 of Carpenter's points came from behind the arc, and junior Kylee Callahan added 11.
  • All nine Prairie Fire players that saw action had at least one field goal.
  • Medina has scored in double figures in 17 straight games and surpassed 800 points (810) in two seasons at Knox.

The Prairie Fire have another tough assignment on Saturday when league-leading Ripon (16-4, 10-1 MWC) comes to Memorial Gymnasium. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. with a live stream and stats for the game available through the official website of Knox College athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.

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