The Lake Forest College women's basketball team hosted and defeated Grinnell College 60-59 on Saturday. The Foresters trailed at halftime and did not take the lead until senior guard Jenna Rice connected on a three-pointer with 3:17 to play.
Rice played all but 44 seconds and finished with eight points and three assists in the final home game of her career. She and fellow senior guards Danielle Canulli and Abby Wiedman and forward Rose Coll were honored before the game and appeared in the starting lineup with junior guard Michelle Ricolcol.
Ricolcol made three shots from beyond the arc and led the Foresters with 16 points. She also added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Canulli also reached double figures with 13 points and grabbed six boards. Junior forward K.C. Stralka came off the bench to score seven points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Foresters found a way to win despite shooting just 28.6 percent from the field, 6-for-24 (25%) from three-point range, and 18-for-29 (62.1%) from the foul line. They out-rebounded the visitors 48-38 and committed just 10 turnovers while forcing 13.
Grinnell jumped out to a 5-0 lead bu Lake Forest scored the game's next 12 points. An 11-0 run by the Pioneers later in the half put them back on top. The Foresters trailed by as many as five point in the half, which ended with the visitors ahead 30-27.
The Pioneers' lead grew to as many as seven points in the second half but a pair of free throws by Rice finished off a 12-5 run that tied the score at 54 with 4:37 remaining. After a pair of Grinnell free throws, Rice connected on her only three-pointer of the afternoon. A basket by Stralka and a free throw by Wiedman made the score 60-56 with two minutes to play. Neither team scored again until a Grinnell three-pointer made it a one-point game with 35.2 seconds on the clock. A pair of missed free throws by the Foresters opened the door for the Pioneers in the final seconds but their shot was wide and Lake Forest escaped with the victory.
The Foresters are now 12-10 overall and 11-6 in Midwest Conference play. They are just a half-game behind 11-5 Carroll University and Illinois College, who are tied for third in the league standings, and one game behind 12-5 Cornell College, who is second.
Grinnell fell to 9-12 overall and 7-9 in the conference.
Lake Forest will close out the regular season next Saturday at Carroll University. The game will begin at 1:00 p.m.
