By: A 17-point turnaround in the third quarter gave IC the lead going into the fourth, but Lake Forest rallied for a 63-59 victory.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – After the first half, the Illinois College women's basketball team was happy just to be in striking distance of Lake Forest. But in the third quarter, an inspired Lady Blues team erased all of a 12-point deficit to take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, things turned back around in the final 10 minutes and the Foresters were able to escape with a 63-59 win on Saturday afternoon in Sherman Gymnasium. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for IC, dropping the team to 8-5 (5-3 Midwest Conference). Lake Forest improved to 6-5 (5-2 MWC).
The opening six minutes were very forgettable for the Lady Blues. Lake Forest jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Illinois College before substitute
Mallory Battefeld got IC on the board with a three-point play at the 3:55 mark of the first quarter. A 6-0 run by the Foresters followed, though the Lady Blues were able to trim the deficit down to 20-8 at the end of the quarter.
Everything seemed to be going Lake Forest's way as the Foresters reached their largest lead of the game at 29-12 with 6:03 to go until halftime. Even would-be turnovers turned to gold. An errant pass by the Foresters struck a referee to keep the ball in play and they ended the possession with a three-pointer that made it 25-10. Despite the obstacles, the Lady Blues kept the game within 12 points at the half thanks in part to
Alyssa Garde's eight points. Lake Forest went to the locker rooms with a 37-25 advantage.
The game changed quickly in the third quarter as Illinois College attacked the basket and knocked down free throws to scrap its way back into it.
Hanna Bergkoetter,
Shannen Quehl and
Brielle Greenleaf each made a pair to open the third quarter and a Quehl layup sliced the Lake Forest lead from 12 down to six at 39-33 with three minutes gone. Greenleaf eventually tied the game at 43-43 and Garde scored three straight points to make it 46-43 with two minutes to play in the quarter. Bergkoetter notched the last basket on a short jumper to put the Lady Blues ahead, 48-43, going into the fourth.
The lead was still five at 50-45 when Lake Forest put together a 10-1 run to take the lead back for good. Two free throws from Garde and two more from
Jill Friedrich brought Illinois College within a point at 58-57 with 2:37 to play, but Brittany Avonts scored inside at the 2:18 mark and a jumper from the top of the key by Paige Bobos with less than 30 seconds to play was the clincher. Quehl scored a consolation basket at the buzzer to supply the final margin.
Garde ended the game with 15 points, knocking in 8-of-11 at the line. Greenleaf closed the game with 13 points and Bergkoetter added 11. Battefeld corralled nine rebounds for the Lady Blues and Quehl added eight.
Illinois College returns to action on Jan. 16, hosting Beloit College at Sherman Gymnasium starting at 3 p.m.
