The Forester women's basketball team was defeated 74-63 by visiting Beloit College Tuesday night. Lake Forest senior guard Sam Shuring and junior guard Jenna Rice combined for 14 assists and eight steals in the contest.
Schuring finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and a game-high eight assists and five steals in 39 minutes of play. Rice dished out six assists and added three steals in 35 minutes. Junior guard Danielle Canulli led the home team with 16 points and chipped in with three assists. Sophomore guard Michelle Ricolcol also reached double figures with 10 points. Sophomore forward K.C. Stralka and senior forward Gina Ambrose netted eight points apiece and pulled down nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Stralka also tied a team record with six blocked shots.
The Foresters shot just 32.9 percent from the floor while Beloit made 46.2 percent of field goal attempts. The Buccaneers also had an edge at the free throw line, connecting on 21 of 24 tries while the home team shot just 10-for-19. Lake Forest had a 24-15 advantage in turnovers forced but were out-rebounded 44-39.
Beloit scored the first seven points and led throughout the contest. After falling behind by 11 earlyin the game, the Foresters pulled back to within one at 23-22. A 20-4 Buccaneer run gave the visitors a game-high 17 point lead late in the opening period, which ended with Beloit ahead 45-33.
After scoring the final five points of the first half, Lake Forest began the second with an 11-0 run to make the score 45-44 in favor of Beloit, who responded just a few minutes later with a 15-3 run to regain a double-digit advantage. Trailing 62-49 with eight minutes to play, the Foresters rattled off 12 straight points, including six by Canulli, and were behind by just one at 62-61 with less than four minutes left. The margin was two after a layup by Ricolcol with 1:51 remaining but the home team would not score again and Beloit made seven of eight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
The loss drops the Foresters' overall record to 1-8 and Midwest Conference mark to 1-4. Beloit is now 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the league.
Lake Forest will not play again until taking on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville during the JustAGame Holiday Classic in Wisconsin Dells at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 29.