The Lake Forest College women's basketball team was defeated 74-68 by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Sunday at the JustAGame Holiday Classic in Wisconsin Dells. Forester junior guard Danielle Canulli led all players in the contest with 20 points.
Canulli also pulled down eight rebounds and added three steals.
Forester senior guard Sam Schuring was next on the team with 18 points and she added three steals of her own, as well as a game-high five assists. Senior forward Gina Ambrose also reached double figures with 11 points.
Both teams shot 38 percent from the field but Platteville connected on six three-pointers while the Foresters were 0-for-12 from beyond the arc. Lake Forest shot 16-for-19 (84.2%) from the free throw line while Platteville connected on 20 of 31 foul shots. The Pioneers had a 45-40 edge in rebounds.
A 13-2 run in the first half gave the Pioneers the lead for good. They led by as many as 14 in the period and by a dozen 35-23 when the buzzer sounded.
The Platteville lead grew as large as 15 points on several occasions in the second half, the last at 61-46 with 6:39 to play. Trailing by 14 with four minutes remaining, the Foresters pulled to within eight five times before closing to within five (73-68) with 20 seconds on the clock. A Pioneer free throw with 15 ticks left, however, turned out to be the game's final point.
Lake Forest is now 1-9 on the season and the Pioneers raised their record to 8-4.
The Foresters will play the rest of their regular season games against fellow Midwest Conference opponents, beginning on Monday, January 6, against visiting Illinois College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.