By: Clark Shanahan
GALESBURG, Illinois - The Knox Prairie Fire women’s basketball team fell to the Monmouth College Fighting Scots this Wednesday evening by a final score of 63-55. The loss is their second in a row and puts their record at an even 10-10 on the year.
The Prairie Fire faced tough competition to begin the first half, as their offense struggled to gain momentum against Monmouth. Knox only shot 34.6% from the field in the first half, and their usual perimeter effectiveness was not present. Catessa Duran did what she could to keep the Prairie Fire afloat, as she scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds in an impressive individual display. On the defensive end, Knox did what they could to limit the scoring threats that the Fighting Scots provided, only allowing them to shoot 12-for-35 from the floor in the first half. Despite that, the Prairie Fire were down by five as the halftime buzzer sounded.
The second half saw Knox have an initial surge in scoring, only to be subdued again by the suffocating defense of the Fighting Scots. Haylee Carpenter provided a solid scoring presence off the bench, putting up 14 points while providing a consistent threat to Monmouth’s defense. Unfortunately for the Prairie Fire, their shooting touch evaporated in the fourth quarter, as they only scored 10 points while falling behind the barrage of three pointers that the Fighting Scots put up, putting Knox in a hole they couldn’t recover from.
"We really let this one get away from us," said head coach Kira Mowen. "We had the lead in the fourth quarter, but had a rough stretch shooting and on defense in the closing minutes."
Knox will try to get back to their winning ways when they travel to play Beloit this Saturday at 3 p.m.
Commentaires