Sophomore guard Bridget Bilek matched her career-high with 20 points to help lead the Forester women's basketball team to a 61-55 win over Monmouth College at home on Saturday.
Bilek also dished out a game-high-tying four assists on the afternoon and played all but three minutes in the contest.
Sophomore forward Paige Bobos was the only other Forester in double figures with 11 points and she shared team-high honors in rebounds with eight. Senior forward Brittany Avonts shot 3-for-4 from the field and also grabbed eight boards. Senior guard Kara Norvet led the Foresters with three steals and she matched Bilek with four assists.
Lake Forest shot 35.9 percent from the floor while Monmouth connected on 37.7 percent of their field goal attempts. The Fighting Scots outscored the Foresters 27-12 from three-point range while the home team made 11 free throws and the Fighting Scots just six. Lake Forest also had a slight 41-38 edge in rebounds and committed just 18 turnovers while forcing 23.
After falling behind 6-4, the Foresters rattled off 19 consecutive points in a nine-minute span during the first and second quarters. Monmouth trimmed the margin to 11 but the home team finished off the second period with eight straight points and led 35-16 at halftime.
The third quarter started with baskets by Avonts and Bilek and Lake Forest led by 23 before surrendering the game's next eight points. The Fighting Scots continued to chip away at the deficit and the home team's lead was just 11 points at 49-38 with a quarter to play.
A 7-0 Monmouth run to start the fourth made it a four-point game but a three-point play by Bobos and a layup by sophomore forward Hannah Hiland quickly ran the lead back up to nine. The Scots eventually pulled back to within four points at 58-54 with 32 seconds remaining but would get no closer as the Forester defense limited the visitors to just one more point in the contest.
Lake Forest improved to 5-10 overall and 4-6 in Midwest Conference play. The Foresters finished off a season sweep of the Scots, who are now 2-13 overall and 2-8 in the league.
The Foresters will host Illinois College Wednesday evening at 5:30.
