St. Norbert Drops Nailbiter to Knox

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, December 1, 2018 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College lost a tough 72-70 decision to Knox College in a Midwest Conference game on Connie Tilley Court at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

St. Norbert trailed by five points early in the fourth quarter at 62-57 with 7:05 remaining before going on an 8-0 run to take a 65-62 lead on a 3-pointer by Hannah Gibbons with 3:11 to play. Knox countered with a 5-0 run to take a 67-65 lead before Christine Olijnyk buried a 3-pointer with 1:05 to play for a 68-67 lead.

Knox's Jarrelyn McCall hit a pair of layups sandwiched around two Macie Zurfluh free throws for a 71-70 lead. St. Norbert turned it over inside 10 seconds, with McCall splitting a pair of free throws for a two-point lead. St. Norbert's desperation 3-pointer as time was winding down was well short.

St. Norbert jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, with Knox not scoring until 7:04 had elapsed in the first quarter. The Prairie Fire cut its deficit to 15-10 after the first 10 minutes of action. Knox eventually built a 29-25 lead late in the second quarter but St. Norbert closed on a 7-0 run. Sarah Neumann had a hoop, Sarah Ratajczyk two free throws and Olijnyk a conventional three-point play for a 32-29 lead at halftime.

Knox led by as many as seven points in the third quarter before settling on a 54-54 tie at the end of the period.

St. Norbert shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the floor. Gibbons led the Green Knights with a career-high 15 points. Olijnyk and Liz Edinger each added 13 points, while Zurfluh and Ratajczyk had 11 points apiece.

Knox shot 44.8 percent (26-for-58) from the floor and canned 13 of 25 (52 percent) three-point field-goal attempts. Karlie Thorn led the Prairie Fire with 27 points, including eight 3-pointers. McCall added 19 points.