On December 30th, Kristin Herndon and the Knox College Prairie Fire got a rude awakening in an ugly loss to the University of Chicago. Then, they woke up and won their next three games by ridiculous margins. But the competition would get tougher and most games would be a grind as the Prairie Fire began a drive to fight for a conference title.
January 14th – Prairie Fire 67, Beloit 54
The Prairie Fire took a 35-21 halftime lead and were in control for most of the game. But unlike their previous three games, they could not pull away, but Beloit would never get closer than 9 the second half. Kristin Herndon had 8 points and 9 boards along with 4 assists in the win. Eight different players scored and three were in double figures.
January 17th – Prairie Fire 72, Illinois College 68
The Prairie Fire took a 42-27 halftime lead, but had to cling by their fingernails before coming away with a 72-68 win. Kristin Herndon had 21 points and 7 boards along with 3 steals. Sarina Dacio had 13 and Juliana Vinluan had 10. Catessa Duran had 10 boards. The Prairie Fire led by 9-11 until late in the fourth quarter when a steal and a second chance rebound was converted by Ashlyn Wightman to cut it to 64-57. Anna McKee’s triple cut it to 66-60 at the 1:32 mark. They got the deficit down to two at the five second mark, but then Juliana Vinluan hit two free throws with four seconds left to clinch it for the Prairie Fire.
January 21st – Prairie Fire 68, Lake Forest 59
The Prairie Fire won their sixth straight as they had 10 players score and four reach double figures. Kristin Herndon had 11 points for Knox. Catessa Duran had 14, Sophie Elstone 13, and Kylee Callahan had 11 to round out the double figure scoring. Elstone had 10 boards. Knox had 48 points in the paint to 34 for Lake Forest, while Knox had 19 points off turnovers compared to 12 for Lake Forest. The Prairie Fire led by as much as 18 in the fourth; Lake Forest whittled away, but never got it under 10 points until 10 seconds were left on the clock.
With the win, the Prairie Fire exceeded their win total from last year.
January 25th – Prairie Fire 63, Grinnell 51
Knox outscored Grinnell 36-20 in the paint and 19-8 off turnovers as they won their seventh straight. It was a wild game. First. Grinnell started off well and led 17-14 despite being just 7-10. Then, Knox outscored them 21-3 in the second and took control, leading 53-31 after three quarters. Then, they had to weather a frantic rally by Grinnell as they got red hot from the field, slicing their deficit from 22 to 12 in just a three minute span. It was 59-47 at the 4:43 mark of the game, plenty of time for that level of play, but the Prairie Fire righted the ship and never led their lead shrink any closer than 12.
Kristin Herndon had just 5, but that was a product of balanced scoring and the Prairie Fire feeding the hot hand. Sophie Elstone had 15 on 7 of 9 shooting, Kylee Callahan had 13 on 6 of 8 shooting, and Catessa Duran had 12 on 6 of 13 shooting. Herndon had 11 boards and 2 blocks. Callahan had 5 assists.
January 28th – Prairie Fire 57, Monmouth 53
In a game that was close all the way, Knox held off Monmouth 57-53. Kylee Callahan had 23 and Kristin Herndon had 14 in the winning effort. Herndon had 8 boards and 3 blocks. Catessa Duran had 6 steals. Knox had 23 points off turnovers compared to 12 for Monmouth.
Monmouth trailed by four to eight points for much of the fourth, but fought back to force a 48-48 tie with 3:31 left as Ashley Jones connected for them. Jones then got a steal, but Sophie Elstone blocked Lily Harlan’s jumper that would have put Monmouth in front. Subsequently, Kylee Callahan’s second chance free throws put Knox back in front 50-48.
Herndon’s free throw extended it to 51-48 with 1:44 left, but Lily Harlan’s free throws cut it to 51-50 with 1:21 left. Monmouth had a chance to take the lead after getting a stop, but turned it over and Kylee Callahan’s free throws put Knox up 53-50 with 26 seconds left. Herndon’s free throws extended it to 55-50 with 17 seconds left, but Lily Harlan was fouled on a three point attempt with 12 seconds left and hit all three to cut it to 55-53.
Kristin Herndon only made one of two with 11 seconds left, but Monmouth fouled Loraya Rocha during the second attempt, and she made one of two to make it 57-53 and Monmouth’s three point attempt with 4 seconds left went astray.
January 31st – Prairie Fire 60, Lawrence 35
A rare breather for the Prairie Fire, who trailed 8-7 after one, but broke it open with an 18-7 second quarter and a 29-9 third quarter. They outscored Lawrence 34-6 in the paint and 24-12 off the bench. Eleven different purple shirts scored, and all 15 people who got to play got at least one rebound. Kristin Herndon had 14 points and 13 boards in the win along with 2 blocks.
They set a school record with their ninth straight win.
February 4th – Prairie Fire 68, Cornell 53
The Prairie Fire had one of their most dominating displays on the boards for the year in winning their 10th straight. They outrebounded Cornell 48-24, outscored them 32-12 in points in the paint, and 15-2 in second chance points.
Kristin Herndon had 14 points and 14 boards in the game. Catessa Duran had 24 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks in the win.
Cornell hung around for most of the game and an early fourth quarter push got them to within 56-48. But the Prairie Fire scored the next 11 points to put the game away.
February 8th – Prairie Fire 45, Monmouth 38
A revenge-minded Monmouth squad chipped away at a 14 point halftime deficit throughout the second half, but came up seven points short. Kristin Herndon had 11 points and 12 boards while Juliana Vinluan had 10 as well. Catessa Duran also had 12 boards. Bench strength and points in the paint helped keep Knox afloat as they outscored Monmouth 21-0 off the bench and 26-10 in the paint. They outrebounded them 45-30.
Monmouth trailed by 11 to start the fourth quarter and finally got a steal with 1:07 down 43-36 with a chance to cut it to four or five. But they missed a layup try and a 3-pointer and Knox was able to hold them off on the free throw line.
The win was their 11th straight and matched a school record for their 18th win in a season.
February 11th – Prairie Fire 71, Beloit 57
The Prairie Fire played everybody this game and built up a 24 point lead after three before a frantic Beloit rally brought them within 14. Kristin Herndon had 7 points. Sixteen different people got minutes, 12 got to score, and 13 had at least one board. They outscored Beloit 35-18 in the paint and 25-14 off turnovers.
But things got interesting in the fourth and the game got as close as 65-57 with 1:21 to go after Kristin Herndon had fouled out a few minutes earlier. But the Prairie Fire went four for four from the line and added a jumper down the stretch to close the game out.
The game was Senior Day, and seven different seniors, including Herndon, were honored. The program set a school record with its 19th win and its 12th straight overall.
February 14th – Prairie Fire 63, Illinois College 62
In a game that was close all the way, the Prairie Fire pulled off the close win. Kristin Herndon had 8 points and 9 boards. Kylee Callahan, continuing her hot streak down the stretch, had 23. Catessa Duran had 13 and Juliana Vinluan 10. Knox outscored Illinois College 32-16 in the paint.
Neither team led by more than a possession in the fourth until Ashlyn Wightman’s three point play put Illinois College up 56-52 with 5:18 left. But Callahan raced right down the floor and hit a three to make it 56-55 and keep Knox in the game.
Illinois College led by 1 to 3 from then on until the Prairie Fire got a stop with 23 seconds left. Callahan drew a foul with 5.4 seconds left and hit both free throws, and Illinois College missed a subsequent jumper that would have won it.
The game clinched at least a tie for the conference title, Knox’s first since winning a South Division title in 1988-89. It was their 13th straight win and 20th overall.
February 18th – Ripon 64, Prairie Fire 54
Playing for a share of the conference title on their home floor, Ripon took a big lead and outrebounded Knox for one of the few times all year 50-33. They built up a 26-13 halftime lead before a frantic rally by Knox almost saved the game. They outscored Ripon 24-15 to cut it to four after three, but could not complete the comeback. Kristin Herndon had 15 points and 7 boards. Kylee Callahan had 13.
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