The Forester women's basketball team erased a 13-point deficit en route to a 62-58 victory at Illinois College on Saturday. Senior forward Gina Ambrose attempted just six field goal attempts but led Lake Forest with 17 points on the afternoon.
It was nearly a perfect shooting day for Ambrose, who made five of six shots from the floor, including all three she attempted from three-point range, and went 4-for-4 from the foul line. Junior guard Danielle Canulli was the only other Forester in double figures with 11 points while senior guard Sam Schuring finished with nine points and a game-high six assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Michelle Ricolcol led the visitors with six rebounds.
Lake Forest shot 47.6 percent from the field in the second half and 44.2 percent for the game. The Foresters made five of nine tried from beyond the arc and 19 of 26 free throws (73.1%). The held the Lady Blues to 41.7 percent shooting on their home court and forced 23 Illinois College turnovers while committing 19. The home team had a 34-26 edge in rebounds.
Illinois College scored the game's first five points and jumped out to a 10-2 lead. The margin grew to 13 points later in the first half but a Forester run late in the period made it a 30-22 game at halftime.
Ambrose and sophomore forward Sam Cady accounted for the Foresters' first 13 points of the second half as they took their first lead of the game. A three-pointer by Ambrose with 12:43 remaining extended the lead to five points (42-37), Lake Forest's largest on the day. The Lady Blues, however, regained the advantaged by two points (48-46) with less than nine minutes left. After a three-pointer by junior guard Abby Wiedman put the Foresters back on top, a 7-2 Illinois College run gave the home team a four-point (55-51) lead with four minutes to play. A layup and three-pointer by Ambrose caused the lead to change hands a final time. Lake Forest shot 6-for-8 from the foul line and held the home team to just three more points down the stretch to secure its second straight victory.
The Foresters are now 4-12 overall this season and 4-7 in Midwest Conference play while the Lady Blues fell to 10-6 overall and 8-3 in the league.
Lake Forest will host St. Norbert College (12-4, 9-2 MWC) Tuesday night at 7:30.
