The Lake Forest College women's basketball team was defeated 81-78 by visiting Monmouth College on Saturday. Forester senior forward Liz Radtke was the game's leading scorer with 19 points and she added a team-high 10 rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
It was the first double-double of the season for Radtke and the second of her career. She shot 6-for-10 from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line in the game.
Freshman guard Michelle Ricolcol was next on the Foresters with 16 points. She was also 6-for-10 from the field and made four three-pointers in six attempts. Freshman forward K.C. Stralka also reacehd double figures for the third time this season with 10 points. She also blocked three shots.
Lake Forest shot 41 percent from the field and limited Monmouth to 38 percent. The Foresters also connected for a season-high 11 three-pointers in 29 attempts (37.9%) while the visitors were 7-for-14. The Fighting Scots had a 22-13 edge in made free throws and committed six fewer turnovers (22-28).
Monmouth scored the game's first five points and never relinquished its lead. The margin grew to as many as 13 points in the first half, which ended with the Foresters trailing 46-37.
The margin fluctuated between six and 11 points in the second half until a Ricolcol three-pointer made the score 63-60 in favor of Monmouth with 9:55 to play. The Scots scored the next eight points to extend the lead to double figures once again but an 8-0 Forester run a few minutes later made it a 2-point game (75-73) with 1:43 left. The visitors scored with 1:16 to play and Radtke answered with 58 seconds on the clock. Monmouth made one of two free throws 28.2 seconds to play and again with 16.6 ticks left, but a long three-pointer by Forester sophomore guard Abby Wiedman with 8.5 seconds on the clock cut the Scots' lead to 79-78. The visitors made two free throws with 5.6 seconds left and Lake Forest was unable to tie the game at the buzzer.
The Foresters fell to 6-8 overall and 4-5 in Midwest Conference play this season while Monmouth raised its overall record to 12-2 and league mark to 7-2.
Lake Forest will travel to Carroll University next Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.