Sophomore guard Meona Feather's go-ahead basket with 1:12 remaining was the last of 22 lead changes Tuesday night as Lake Forest hosted and defeated St. Norbert College 74-72.
The largest lead for either team in the opening period was three points and the Foresters were ahead by that amount at 18-15 when the buzzer sounded. St. Norbert had a four-point edge in the second quarter but the 10th lead change of the half put Lake Forest on top with two minutes left and the home team took a 34-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The visitors started the second half with an 8-2 run and their 41-36 lead was their largest of the contest. Lake Forest responded with nine points in a row and, after a St. Norbert layup ended the run, a three-pointer by sophomore forward Kara Schoenlein gave the Foresters a five-point advantage for their largest lead of the game. The lead changed hands three more times in the third quarter, which ended with the Green Knights ahead 57-53.
The final 10 minutes of the game featured even more back-and-forth action than any of the first three. At one point the lead switched sides on five consecutive possessions, the first and last on three-pointers by Feather, and a St. Norbert layup then tied the score at 67 with 4:27 remaining. Three points for the Foresters were followed by four for the Knights, setting up Feather's final lead-changing basket. She put Lake Forest ahead 72-71 and, on the next possession, found junior forward Delaney Sjong down low for two more points with 22.3 seconds on the clock. A Green Knight free throw with 13.2 seconds left made it a two-point game and, despite turning the ball over, the home team held on for the victory.
Feather finished with 10 points while junior guard Kelsey Burton and freshman guard Katie Neher shared the team lead with 15 apiece. Burton's stat line also included seven rebounds and a game-high five steals. Sjong led all players in the game with a season-high 10 rebounds.
Lake Forest shot 47 percent from the field while the Green Knights were at 51 percent. An 8-for-16 performance on three-pointers gave the Foresters the edge in that category as rebounds and turnovers were even at 32 and 16, respectively.
The victory lifted the Foresters over the .500 mark at 8-7 overall and the team improved to 5-3 in Midwest Conference play. St. Norbert fell to 4-12 overall and 3-6 in the league.
Lake Forest will travel to Monmouth College on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
