Junior forward Brie Majkowski came off the bench to score a season-high 11 points and help lead the Lake Forest College women's basketball team to a 66-54 victory over Beloit College at home Wednesday night.
Majkowski, who came into the game averaging less than 11 minutes of playing time per contest, saw action for 27 minutes on Wednesday due to foul trouble in the Forester frontcourt. In addition to scoring 11 points, she pulled down six rebounds and recorded a game-high four steals.
Senior forward K.C. Stralka led Lake Forest with 15 points and 13 rebounds for her league-high eighth double-double of the year. She also added three assists and three steals in the game. Sophomore guard Kelsey Schmitt was next on the team with 14 points and freshman forward Paige Bobos chipped in with nine. Freshman guard Taylor Farrell dished out a game-high five assists.
The Buccaneers, who entered the game ranked second in the Midwest Conference with a .419 field goal percentage, made just one-fourth of their attempts on Wednesday and finished 15 points below their season scoring average. The Foresters shot 37.5 percent frim the floor, made three of five attempts from three-point range, and knocked down 15 of 21 free throws. The Foresters had a slight 46-42 edge in rebounds.
Beloit netted the game's first three points but Lake Forest scored the next eight and led the rest of the way. The Foresters led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter and started the second with a pair of baskets by Stralka and a three-pointer by Schmitt to extend the lead to 10. The margin grew to as many as 13 points in the period and the home team went into the locker room at halftime leading 32-21.
The Bucs started the second half on a 13-4 run, cutting the deficit to just two points with 5:25 to play in the third. Back-to-back baskets by Majkowski made it a six-point game and her first career three-pointer extended the lead to seven with 2:40 left in the period. Beloit responded with a three-pointer but Lake Forest pulled ahead by nine (49-40) by the end of the quarter.
Stralka scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and nine of the Foresters' 17 in the final period. Her basket with 6:08 to play extended the lead to a game-high 15 points but an 8-0 run by Beloit trimmed the margin to seven with two-and-a-half minutes left. Schmitt, Stralka, and junior guard Tara Gloystein combined to make six of eight free throws down the stretch and the Forester defense held the Bucs scoreless for the final 90 seconds to secure the victory.
Lake Forest in now 8-6 overall and 7-3 in league play this season. Beloit fell to 5-11 overall and 3-8 in the conference.
The Foresters' next game will be Saturday afternoon at Cornell College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
