By: A large first-half lead almost slipped away late for Illinois College, but the Lady Blues came from behind in the final minutes and won on a Brielle Greenleaf layup.
Box Score
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team led much of the way and then came back strong late in the game after falling behind for the first time, picking up a 64-63 win on the road at Lake Forest College. The win keeps the Lady Blues in a tie for fourth place in the Midwest Conference at 10-6 (7-4 MWC) along with Knox College. The Foresters drop to 5-11 (4-7 MWC).
Early on, Illinois College seemed to be in full control, taking a 20-12 lead after the first quarter. After
Carly Cameron scored the first basket of the game, Lake Forest tied it at 2-2.
Brielle Greenleaf then knocked home back-to-back three-pointers to stake IC to a quick 8-2 edge. With the score 10-9, Illinois College went on a 9-0 run with six points coming from
Melissa Solorio.
The Greenleaf & Solorio Show continued in the second quarter as they combined for all 12 points scored by the Lady Blues. With IC on top, 23-18, the two players connected on three straight three-balls to push the Illinois College lead to 32-18. Lake Forest ended the half on a run however, scoring eight straight to make it 32-26 at the half.
After a stop and a jumper by
Sydney Lett late in the shot clock to start the third quarter, Illinois College was off and running again. The IC lead would reach 10 points twice in the third quarter, the second time at 42-32 on another Lett jumper with just over five minutes left in the frame. Once again, Lake Forest began to close in before the quarter was done though. A jumper by Bridget Bilek with just under 15 seconds left cut the Illinois College lead down to 49-48 entering the final quarter of play.
Lett and Solorio combined for the first seven points of the fourth quarter and for a while it looked like the Lady Blues would cruise the rest of the way after taking a 56-48 advantage with less than seven minutes to play. Lake Forest had other things in mind however, answering IC's 7-0 run with a 7-0 run of its own to make it 56-55 as the clock rolled under four minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Bilek gave the Foresters their first lead of the game with under three minutes to go, and after an empty IC possession, Hannah Hiland scored to make it 62-58 with 2:17 to play.
Needing points in a hurry, Solorio scored on a backdoor cut for a quick two, then added another layup after Lake Forest had made one of two at the line. Following a stop and a rebound by
Shannen Quehl, the Lady Blues broke Lake Forest's full-court press and Greenleaf banked in a contested short jumper with 17 seconds left to give IC the lead back. Coming out of a timeout, the Foresters were unable to get a good look at the basket and Hiland missed a desperation three at the buzzer.
Solorio ended with a team-high 22 points along with seven rebounds off the bench. Greenleaf scored 16 of her 20 points in the first half and made it a double-double with 10 rebounds. Lett added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Cameron added a game-high 12 boards as well.
Illinois College wraps up a brief two-game road trip with a contest at Ripon College on Jan. 28 at 1 p.m.
