By: Illinois College held Knox to 24 points in the first three quarters combined, but the Prairie Fire went on to account for 24 in the fourth quarter alone, winning 48-43.
Box Score
GALESBURG, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team put together one of its best defensive efforts of the season for three quarters, but Knox College got things rolling in the fourth quarter and the Lady Blues couldn't come up with the answers in a 48-43 loss. The Prairie Fire improve to 14-5 (9-2 Midwest Conference) and the Lady Blues sink to 6-14 (4-7 MWC).
For the first 30 minutes, and in particular the first half, Illinois College clamped down on Knox and wouldn't allow the Prairie Fire a clean look. Knox had a brief 7-4 lead with three minutes left in the opening quarter until
Grace Yaunches tied the game on a three-pointer and
Brielle Greenleaf put IC ahead. Karlie Thorn made a three-ball for another Knox lead in the final minute, but a Yaunches jumper just before the buzzer gave the Lady Blues an 11-10 lead after one.
Shannen Quehl and
Bailey Paskach opened the scoring in the second quarter, increasing Illinois College's advantage to 15-10. With 5:50 left in the first half, Morgan Potter converted an and-one layup to bring Knox to within two points at 15-13. Those would be the last points of the first half for the home side. Quehl would score six and Greenleaf would add five in a 13-0 run to close out the quarter, making it 28-13 at the break.
It was inevitable that Knox would begin to score more, but the Lady Blues did a good job of keeping up with the Prairie Fire. Thorn scored with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter to bring Knox within eight, 32-24, but the Lady Blues again quieted the Knox offense and the Prairie Fire wouldn't score the rest of the quarter. In the meantime, IC built its lead back to 12 on a bucket from Quehl and two free throws from
Sydney Himmelman.
The final quarter began with a made jumper by Greenleaf to make it 38-24, however the offense dried up over the next few minutes and Knox quickly put together a 12-0 run to get within two points before a Quehl basket with 6:13 to play. By that point, the Prairie Fire were starting to feel it on the offensive end and Knox was able to reel off 10 straight points to make it 46-40 with just over a minute remaining. Greenleaf hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit in half, but that was all IC could muster and two late free throws sealed it for the Prairie Fire.
Quehl ended with 14 points and 12 rebounds on the night for Illinois College. Greenleaf added 12. Himmelman only had two points, but she made her presence felt in many other ways, ending with 12 rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
Illinois College continues its road trip on Feb. 3 with a matchup against Grinnell College at 5 p.m.
