GALESBURG — The Monmouth College women’s basketball team played nearly even with rival Knox for three quarters, but a second-quarter edge by the Prairie Fire burned the Fighting Scots in a 78-62 loss Wednesday night at Memorial Gym.

Keri Dodson’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave the Scots (5-12, 2-8) a 17-14 lead, but the Fire ignited late in the second frame to take a 39-32 lead into the locker room.

Knox (12-5, 7-2) never trailed in the second half, jumping out to a 51-37 lead before Monmouth rallied on back-to-back buckets by Carley Turnbull to shave the deficit to 51-44 with 3:23 left in the third.

Karlie Thorn scored a game-high 21 points for the Fire. Jarrelyn McCall earned a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Hailey Leinart added 17 points and Kyra Huffman chipped in 11 for Knox.

Carley Turnbull double-doubled with 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead Monmouth. Keri Dodson also scored 13 points and Shayne Smith finished with 12 for the Scots.