By: The Lady Blues received 40 points off the bench on Wednesday, keying a 73-62 win over the Foresters.
Box Score
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team owned the glass and limited Lake Forest College to less than 32 percent shooting on Wednesday night as the Lady Blues claimed their first Midwest Conference victory with a 73-62 road triumph. IC is now 3-6 (1-2 MWC), while Lake Forest falls to 4-4 (3-1 MWC).
The first quarter was an up-tempo battle that was won by Illinois College by a score of 26-22.
McKenzie Skaggs had back-to-back hoops for the Lady Blues in the middle of the quarter, the last of which made it a 13-10 game.
Brielle Greenleaf later gave IC a 22-16 lead with a three-ball from the wing, and she ended the quarter with a layup to keep the Lady Blues in front by four.
The Lady Blues suddenly went cold in the early portion of the second quarter, allowing Lake Forest to score the first eight points of the frame and take a 30-26 advantage. A
Sydney Lett layup finally got the offense going again for Illinois College and kick-started an 8-0 response from IC. Five straight points from Megan Price in the final two minutes of the half put Illinois College in front by seven, but Lake Forest was able to salvage something from the quarter by scoring the last five points before the break, slicing IC's lead to 39-37.
Lake Forest scored the first five points of the third quarter to make it a 10-0 run, putting the Foresters ahead by a score of 42-39. Greenleaf knotted the score on a three-ball at 42-42. That was the start of 11 unanswered points by the Lady Blues, including two baskets from
Grace Yaunches. Four free throws in the final minute of the quarter by Greenleaf and Lett took IC to the final quarter with a 58-48 lead.
Price and Sydney Himmelman accounted for all six Illinois College points early in the fourth quarter, which was enough for the Lady Blues to maintain a 64-56 advantage halfway through. The lead was still eight with less than four minutes to play when Lett converted a layup to give IC a 10-point cushion and the lead would not fall back into single-digits the rest of the way.
Greenleaf ended up with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, but much of the Illinois College production came off the bench. The seven IC reserves accounted for 40 points on the night, led by Shannon Propst's 14. Lett and Yaunches each ended with eight points. Himmelman nabbed six rebounds along with her six points, helping the Lady Blues hold a 52-39 rebounding advantage in the game.
Illinois College will have a long layoff before returning to Sherman Gymnasium for a Dec. 18 game against Monmouth College at 7:30 p.m.
