Sophomore guard Kelsey Schmitt's 26 points matched the highest total by a Forester this season and the Lake Forest College women's basketball team came back to win 70-67 at Monmouth College on Saturday.
Schmitt knocked down a jump shot with just 21 seconds remaining to give the Foresters a 68-67 advantage, their first lead since the score was 13-12. A pair of free throws by Lake Forest senior guard Michelle Ricolcol, who was 9-for-9 from the line on the day, made it a three-point game with 2.4 seconds on the clock. A three-pointer by Monmouth at the buzzer went it but was negated by an offensive foul, giving the visitors the victory.
Lake Forest was outscored in each of the first three quarters and was down by 14 late in the third. A layup by Schmitt midway through the fourth finished off a 13-2 Forester run to begin the period and trimmed the margin to a single point. Ricolcol made two free throws to tie the game at 62 with 3:02 left and then knocked down two more foul shots 41 seconds later to knot the score at 64. Forester senior forward K.C. Stralka was also 2-for-2 from the line to tie the score again at 66 with 70 seconds to play. The Fighting Scots regained the lead for the last time on a free throw with 32 seconds remaining, setting up Schmitt's go-ahead basket.
Schmitt had nine points and Ricolcol and Stralka scored eight apiece while Monmouth managed just 10 as a team in the final period.
Ricolcol and Stralka were each 6-for-12 from the field in the contest and finished with 21 and 16 points, respectively. Stralka also added a team-high nine rebounds.
Lake Forest shot 37.5 percent from the floor while the Scots connected on 34.3 percent of their field goal attempts. The home team outscored the Foresters 21-6 from three-point range and had a 48-40 edge in rebounds but committed 20 of the game's 35 turnovers.
The visitors improved the Foresters' overall record on the season to 10-7 and Midwest Conference mark to 9-4. Monmouth fell to 4-14 overall and 3-10 in the league.
Lake Forest will play its final non-conference game of the regular season at home Wednesdya night against Illinois Institute of Technology. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.