Freshman point guard Jaianna Brooks scored a dozen points and dished out a season-high nine assists in the Lake Forest College women's basketball team's 78-70 victory over visiting Grinnell College on Saturday.
Brooks was one of four Foresters to score in double figures. The team was led by junior forward Hannah Hiland, who poured in a season-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Freshman guard Kelsey Burton was next on the team with 18 points and she added 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year. Burton made four three-pointers in seven attempts and chipped in with a season-high three assists and five steals. Junior forward Hannah O'Day finished with 13 points and also contributed in the rebounding department with seven boards.
Lake Forest shot 40.3 percent from the field while limiting the Pioneers to 37.3 percent. The Foresters also outscored their guests 18-12 on three-pointers and 18-16 from the free throw line. The home team's 44 rebounds were two more than Grinnell's total while its 14 turnovers were two fewer.
Forester junior guard Bridget Bilek scored the game's first three points and her team led the rest of the way. The margin reached as many as eight points in the opening period and was six at 19-13 when it ended. The Lake Forest lead grew to 10 points on three occasions in the second quarter but an 8-0 run by the Pioneers late in the period made it a two-point game. The home team went into the locker room at halftime ahead 37-34.
Four different Foresters made basket's during the team's 9-0 run to open the second half. Grinnell chipped away at the deficit once again and trailed by just four points late in the period. A pair of three-pointers and two free throws by Burton in the final two-plus minutes of the quarter made the score 61-52 going into the fourth. Grinnell scored the first three baskets of the final period to make it a three-point game but the visitors would get no closer. Brooks was 2-for-2 from the field and the line and added two assists in the last 10 minutes of the contest to help secure the victory.
Lake Forest is now 4-3 overall this season and a perfect 3-0 in Midwest Conference play. Grinnell fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in the league.
The Foresters will play their final conference game of the fall semester Wednesday night against visiting Illinois College. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.