February 23 Update: The Prairie Fire women's basketball team went down to the wire with the Midwest Conference regular season co-champions in a 43-42 loss to Cornell College in the first round of the Midwest Conference Tournament.

The Prairie Fire women's basketball team is headed to the Midwest Conference Tournament this weekend at Ripon College on February 23 and 24.

This is first time that the women's basketball team has qualified for the tournament in more than two decades. 

Knox (16-8, 11-5 MWC) earned the number three seed and plays number two seed Cornell College in the opening contest of the tournament at 5:00 p.m. on February 23.

The winner of the Knox vs. Cornell game will play the winner of the Ripon (#1 seed) vs. Lake Forest (#4 seed) game at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 24.

Knox returns to the conference tournament for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Their 16 total wins are the most since back-to-back 17-win seasons in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. The 11 conference victories are the most in school history. The Prairie Fire have won more games than the previous year in each of the last four seasons.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to participate in the Midwest Conference Tournament," said Head Coach Emily Cline. "The team has worked really hard to get to the tournament and it is fun to see their hard work pay off."

Watch the game live at 5 p.m. Friday.