The Lake Forest College women's basketball team hosted and defeated Beloit College 59-44 on Wednesday and is now 4-4 in Midwest Conference play this season. Forester junior guard Michelle Ricolcol and senior guard Danielle Canulli shared game-high honors with 13 points apiece.
Canulli added five rebounds and Ricolcol a pair of blocked shots on the evening. Sophomore forward Brittany Avonts was next on the team with nine points and she led all players with eight rebounds, matching the career-high she set on Saturday. Senior guard Jenna Rice dished out a game-high seven assists and junior forward K.C. Stralka chipped in with seven points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots, and two steals.
The Foresters shot 40 percent from the floor while limiting Beloit to just 23.6 percent. The home team was out-rebounded 46-39 and outscored from the free throw line 16-7 but allowed the Buccaneers to make just 13 field goals and forced the visitors into 25 turnovers.
Beloit led by as many as four points early in the game but were held scoreless for eight-and-a-half minutes in the first half. Lake Forest closed out the period on a 13-4 run and led 23-17 at halftime.
The margin reached 10 points for the first time on a layup by Stralka with 15:43 remaining and reached double figures for good on a basket by Ricolcol with 12:16 to play. That field goal started a 19-6 run that extended the lead to 21 points and put the game out of reach.
The Foresters improved to 4-8 overall this season while the Buccaneers fell to 4-7 overall and 3-3 in the league. Lake Forest and Beloit are among four teams just a half-game out of fourth place in the conference with a .500 record in MWC play.
The next game on the Foresters' schedule is another league contest against visiting Illinois College (7-5, 4-3 MWC) Saturday at 1:00 p.m.