The Lake Forest College women's basketball team defeated visiting North Central College in a non-conference game 88-83 Friday night. Sophomore point guard Jenna Rice was one of six Foresters to score in double figures in the contest.
Rice matched one career-high with 12 points and set another with seven rebounds. She also dished out a game-high five assists and committed just three turnovers in 32 minutes.
Sophomore guard Danielle Canulli actually led the home team with 14 points and she pulled down five boards. Freshman forward Sam Cady and senior forwards Liz Radtke and Courtney Faulstick were next with 13 points apiece. Cady was 5-for-6 from the field and led the Foresters with nine rebounds and three steals. Radtke chipped in with seven rebounds and Faulstick five. Freshman guard Michelle Ricolcol also reached double figures with 10 points and she added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Lake Forest shot 45.5 percent from the floor and 18-for-26 (69.2%)from the free throw line in the contest. The Cardinals made just 28.4 percent of their field goal attempts, 12 of 51 three-pointers (23.5%), and 21 of 26 foul shots (80.8%). The Foresters out-rebounded the visitors 57-52 but committed 27 turnovers, two more than North Central.
The Foresters took the lead on a layup by Ricolcol three minutes into the game and never trailed again. That basket started a 10-0 run that made the score 14-5 after six minutes of play. The margin grew to as many as 10 points three times in the first half, which ended with Lake Forest ahead 38-36.
North Central scored the first basket of the second half to tie the score but the home team responded with a 10-0 run to pull ahead 48-38. The Cardinals came back with a 14-4 run and tied the game at 52 with 13:36 to play. Layups by Canulli and Cady gave the Foresters the lead for good, but it was back down to a single point after a pair of free throws with 7:29 remaining. Lake Forest scored the next six points and led by between three and 10 the rest of the way. A pair of free throws by Cady with 29 seconds on the clock accounted for the final score and helped preserve the Forester victory.
Lake Forest is now 3-4 on the season while the Cardinals fell to 4-3.
The Foresters' final game of the fall semester will be next Tuesday's Midwest Conference contest at Beloit College, which will begin at 5:30 p.m.