Knox women’s basketball team had a close game against the Beloit College Buccaneers with the chance of winning stripped away in the last milliseconds of the match.
The team played a back and forth game with Beloit college on Sunday Jan. 14.
Knox led with one point in the first quarter, only to fall behind in the second and third. Knox was down by 9 points the second quarter and by 3 points the third quarter.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, Knox was able to take a 9 point lead resulting in a close call.
With 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers took a 3 point lead but with only .5 seconds left on the clock, senior Laya Rocha was able to rebound an offensive play and put Knox ahead with the score at 64-63.
As Knox felt the win in their grasp, it was taken away in the tenth of a second. With .1 seconds on the clock a foul was called in favor of the Buccaneers. They were given a 3 shot foul and with every basket made they set themselves on top with a final score of 64-66 and leaving Knox fans in an uproar.
With many of the girls contributing to the points put up, number 50, first-year Bria Medina, scored a total of 29 points, making her the leading point scorer of the game. Following behind her is senior Sarina Dacio, with 17 points made, including a 3 point shot that gave Knox a lead of 62-60 in the 41st second of the game.
Last season, Knox did exceedingly well not only against Beloit but in the conference as a whole. In the 2023 season, they were awarded conference champions and moved on to the midwest tournament making history for Knox with their 22-6 record.
Knox was able to lead games with anywhere between 45-8 points in the previous season. So far this year they had a large lead against Dominican by 54 points, but on average they lead with between 9-4 points.
These statistics have not been the only change we’ve seen from the Knox women’s basketball team. After last season the women’s team lost 5 seniors to graduation and two transferred. With many girls leaving and a change of coach, the team has had to navigate not only through a new season, but a new team and circumstances.
