Junior guard Bridget Bilek's 15 points led the visitors as the Lake Forest College women's basketball team was defeated 74-57 at Wheaton College on Friday.
Bilek shot 6-for-11 from the field and connected on three of five attempts from three-point range. Freshman guard Kelsey Burton and junior forward Hannah Hiland also reached double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Burton was also 6-for-11 from the floor and made two three-pointers while adding four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Hiland connected on three of eight field goal attempts, including one from beyond the arc, and was successful on three of four foul shots.
Sophomore forward Molly Schoenlein led the Foresters with a career-high 10 rebounds, sophomore guard Zaria Sydnor with three assists, and freshman forward Emily Argersinger with three blocked shots.
Lake Forest shot 32.3 percent from the field, 8-for-23 from three-point range, and 7-for-11 on free throws. The Thunder connected on 40.5 percent of their field goal attempts, made just four of 18 three-pointers, and knocked down 10 of 15 shots from the line. The home team also had a 52-41 edge in rebounds and committed 17 of the game's 40 turnovers.
Bilek scored eight of the Foresters' first 11 points and her second three-pointer of the day gave the visitors their only lead of the game at 11-10. Wheaton responded with a 10-point run that was finally ended by a Burton three-pointer. A pair of free throws by the home team with just a few seconds to play in the period made the score 22-14 after the first quarter.
A three-pointer by Hiland made it a five-point game two minutes into the second period but a 13-3 Thunder run quickly extended their lead to 15. A Bilek three-pointer gave her 11 points in the half but Wheaton led 41-28 going into the break.
Hiland scored six points and Burton four in the third quarter but the Foresters got no closer than 11 points in the period, which ended with Wheaton ahead by 20 at 62-42. It was the third consecutive 14-point period for the visitors.
The home team's lead reached 28 points in the fourth before Lake Forest scored 11 unanswered points in the final two-and-a-half minutes.
It was the season opener for Wheaton while the loss dropped the Foresters' 2017-18 record to 0-2.
Lake Forest will continue play at Wheaton's Beth Baker Classic and take on North Central College at 1:00 Saturday afternoon.