Prairie Fire Basketball Teams Break Losing Streaks Against Monmouth

The Knox College basketball teams were both able to put a stop to losing streaks against rival Monmouth College during a double header Tuesday night.

The Prairie Fire Women's basketball team won 111-90 and in the process snapped a 25-game losing streak to Monmouth dating back to the 2002-03 season. The Men's team stopped a six-game skid of their own against the Fighting Scots with a 71-67 victory.

The Knox Women's basketball team continued its red hot shooting against Monmouth. Only three days after hitting a school record 18 3-pointers in a 123-71 win over Lawrence University, Knox nearly matched that mark with 17 more triples. The defense also stepped up for the Prairie Fire, forcing 27 turnovers and scoring 33 points off of those miscues.

Knox took the lead on a three from junior Jasmine Binion with 17:37 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The Prairie Fire took a 10 point lead into the locker room at halftime and continued their dominance into the second half, at one point extending their lead to 27. The Prairie Fire were led by senior Jodi Marver, who put together an impressive line of 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Senior Jessica Howard also piled on an additional 17 points in the rout.

In the second game, the Men's team showed their resilience by fighting back from an early 18 point deficit. Monmouth controlled most of the first half, leading 43-31 at halftime. However, a 9-0 run in the second half led by sophomore Mike Martin and first-year Caylab Herrera gave Knox its first lead with 13:27 left. The contest was close all the way into the final minute, but senior Mitch Murphy was able to put the game away by calmly sinking a pair of free throws.

In all, the back and forth affair featured eight ties and eight lead changes. Sophomore Robert Suntken led the way for the Prairie Fire with 16 points. First-year Orlando Brown chipped in 15 points of his own, and Murphy scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Both the Men's and Women's teams play their next three games on the road.