Junior forward Hannah O'Day made six three-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points to help lead the Lake Forest College women's basketball team to a 66-45 rout of Ripon College at home on Saturday.
O'Day's six three-pointers (in 10 attempts) are the most by a Forester since Gina Ambrose knocked down the same number in January of 2014 and just two shy of the program record. In addition to setting a new career-high for points in a game, O'Day also chipped in with eight rebounds while playing all but two minutes in the contest.
Freshman guard Kelsey Burton was next on the team with 19 points and she grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for her ninth double double of the year. It was an efficient offensive performance for Burton, who shot 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point range, and 7-for-8 on free throws.
Sophomore forward Molly Schoenlein also reached double figures in rebounds with 10 and senior guard Kelsey Schmitt led all players in the game with four assists.
While Lake Forest shot just 32.7 percent from the field, Ripon struggled even more at 22.7 percent. The Foresters made eight of 15 attempts from beyond the arc for the fifth-highest single-game three-point field goal percentage in program history and shot 22-for-25 from the foul line and are now shooting 73.5 percent on free throws this year. The Red Hawks finished with a slight 47-43 edge in rebounds.
The Foresters scored seven of the game's first nine points but trailed 13-11 at the end of the opening quarter. There were six ties and five lead changes in the second quarter and Lake Forest took a 26-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The home team was ahead the rest of the way, although the margin was just three at 35-32 with a little more than three minutes to play in the third. A 10-3 run by the Foresters to close out the period gave them a 10-point lead at 45-35. Lake Forest continued to pull away in the fourth, scoring 21 points and increasing the lead to as many as 23 late in the period.
The victory improved the Foresters' overall record on the year to 10-11 and Midwest Conference mark to 8-6. The Red Hawks, who entered the day atop the league standings, fell to 13-7 overall and 10-2 in conference play.
Lake Forest will travel to St. Norbert College for a non-conference game Wednesday night at 7:30.
