The Lake Forest College women's basketball team hosted and defeated St. Norbert College 52-34 on Wednesday. It was the Foresters' third consecutive victory and fifth win in seven games this month. Senior forward Courtney Faulstick had eight points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the home team.
Fellow senior forward Liz Radtke led all players in the contest with 14 points and matched Faulstick's game-high rebound total. She was also 8-for-9 from the free throw line on the evening and has made 34 of 38 (89.5%) foul shots in the last four games.
Freshman guard Michelle Ricolcol was next on the team with nine points and freshman forward K.C. Stralka chipped in with seven.
The Foresters shot just 38.3 percent from the field in the game and made four of 15 three-pointers and 12 of 16 free throws. They limited St. Norbert to just 22.4 percent from the field and one made three-pointer in 25 attempts. The Green Knights also shot just 7-for-17 from the foul line. Rebounds and turnovers were nearly even with Lake Forest having one more of each.
The game started slowly for both teams and the score was still 1-1 after almost six minutes of play. A traditional three-point play by Radtke and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jenna Rice, who played all but four minutes in the game, gave the home team a 7-1 advantage. St. Norbert battled back and tied the score at 11 with 5:26 remaining the opening period. The Foresters then outscored their guests 11-1 during the rest of the half, which ended with the home team ahead 22-12.
St. Norbert led 37-11 at halftime when the teams faced one another earlier in the season.
After baskets by Faulstick and Radtke to open the second half increased the lead to 14, the Green Knights scored five points in a row and trailed by just nine with 16 minutes remaining. Ricolcol then scored five points and Radtke four during a 13-2 Lake Forest run that made it a 20-point game with 10:37 left. St. Norbert got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
It was the Foresters' most lopsided victory over St. Norbert, a perennial power in the Midwest Conference and the league's defending champion, since a 75-54 triumph in January of 2000. It was also the Green Knights' lowest scoring output in 58 all-time meetings with Lake Forest. The previous low occurred during a 78-52 Forester win in January of 1999. The Foresters had not held any team to as few as 34 points since a 70-31 victory over Knox College in February of 2008.
Lake Forest is now 9-8 overall and 7-5 in MWC play while St. Norbert fell to 12-5 overall and 9-3 in the league.
The Foresters will travel to Grinnell College on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.