Freshman guard Jaianna Brooks scored a career-high 22 points but the Lake Forest College women's basketball team was defeated 70-64 at Illinois College Wednesday night.
Brooks shot 8-for-14 from the field and connected on both of her attempts from three-point range and all four free throws. She also matched the career-high she set on Saturday with seven rebounds.
Forester junior forward Hannah O'Day, sophomore forward Molly Schoenlein, and freshman guard Kelsey Burton finished the game with 10 points apiece. Schoenlein led the visitors with nine rebounds and senior forward Kara Norvet with a career-high seven assists.
Lake Forest shot just 32.1 percent from the floor in the first half while the Lady Blues knocked down 60 percent of their field goal attempts and had a 45-26 advantage at the break.
A three-pointer by sophomore guard Zaria Sydnor started the visitors' comeback early in the third quarter, which began with an 11-2 Forester run. A basket by Brooks trimmed the margin to eight points with two minutes left in the period and a jumper by Burton did the same with a minute to play. After Illinois College went back up by 10, a put-back by O'Day at the buzzer made the score 53-45 with a quarter to play.
The deficit was nine points early in the fourth before layups by Schoenlein, Brooks, and Sydnor and a jumper by Burton made it a one-point game with 7:40 remaining. Lake Forest closed to within a point three more times in the game, the last on a three-pointer by Brooks with 1:45 on the clock, but could not complete the comeback.
The loss dropped the Foresters' overall record to 8-10 and Midwest Conference mark to 6-5. Illinois College improved to 6-12 overall and 4-5 in the league.
Lake Forest will host Knox College on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.