Senior guard Zaria Sydnor dished out a game-high six assists and tied for the team lead with 15 points and seven rebounds Thursday night in an 80-68 victory over Cornell College.
Sydnor's rebound total was a career-high and her third assist of the evening was her 200th as a Forester.
Sophomore forward Kara Schoenlein knocked down five three-pointers in the contest and her 15 points was a career-high. Junior guard Kelsey Burton also reached double figures with 11 points and she added four steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Freshman guard Katie Neher matched Sydnor with seven rebounds and the Foresters finished the contest with a slight 41-39 edge in that category, despite a significant disadvantage in height. Lake Forest also shot 43.3 percent from the field and 12-for-25 from three-point range while limiting the Rams to 32.3 percent overall and 26.5 percent (9-for-34) from beyond the arc.
The Foresters scored the game's first seven points and never relinquished the lead. The margin grew to as many as eight in the opening period but was back down to two before a running three-pointer at the buzzer by Neher made the score 21-16. Leading by just three at 26-23, Lake Forest rattled off 12 straight points in the second quarter and took a 40-28 edge into the locker room at the half.
Cornell closed to within four in the third quarter but Lake Forest responded with a 12-2 run and was still ahead by eight at 54-46 with 10 minutes to play. After the home team scored the first five points of the fourth, the Rams accounted for the next eight and the difference was just five at 59-54 with 6:27 to play. The Foresters accounted for nine of the game's next 11 points and seemed to match every basket by the visitors with one of their own. A Schoenlein three-pointer with 1:56 to play made it a 14-point game and the lead remained in double figures the rest of the way.
The victory evened the Foresters' overall record on the season at 12-12 and improved their Midwest Conference mark to 9-8. Cornell fell to 14-9 overall and 11-6 in the league.
Lake Forest will close out the season against Grinnell College Saturday afternoon at 3:00.