Junior guard Bridget dished out a career-high seven assists to help lead the Lake Forest College women's basketball team to a 70-47 victory at Beloit College Tuesday night in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams.
Bilek was also one of three Foresters to score in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Junior forward Hannah O'Day led the visitors with 16 points and sophomore forward Molly Schoenlein added 10. Schoenlein also led all players in the game with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Foresters shot 41 percent from the field while limiting the Buccaneers to just 29.3. Lake Forest also tied the program's single-game record for free throw percentage, knocking down 17 of 18 (94.4%) on the night. The visitors had a slight 42-39 edge in rebounds and forced 31 turnovers while committing 22.
Beloit led by as many as four points early in the contest but the Foresters outscored their hosts 12-3 over the final six minutes of the opening period to pull ahead for good. O'Day had eight points in the quarter, including Lake Forest's last six before the buzzer sounded.
The margin reached double figures on a three-pointer by freshman guard Kelsey Burton with 4:39 remaining in the first half and remained at 10 or more until a Buccaneer three-pointer at the buzzer made the score 31-22 in favor of the visitors at halftime.
The Foresters' lead was trimmed to six points early in the second half but a 15-4 run to close out the third quarter made it a 17-point game with 10 minutes to play.
Both teams had their highest-scoring period in the fourth with Lake Forest putting up 22 points and Beloit 16. The visitors' lead never dipped below 16 points and grew to as many as 24.
The victory evened the Foresters' overall record on the season at 2-2 while Beloit remained winless after three contests.
Lake Forest's next game is a non-conference match-up at Benedictine next Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.