Sophomore forward Molly Schoenlein finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots, and two steals but the Lake Forest College women's basketball team was edged out 77-75 in overtime Monday night at Benedictine University.
Schoenlein shot 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from the foul line in the contest. She set a career-high for points while matching her best rebounding performance. Forester freshman guard Kelsey Burton also reached double figures with a dozen points and 14 boards on Monday, giving the duo double-doubles in the same game for the second time this season.
Freshman Jaianna Brooks also set a career-high for points with 13, junior forward Hannah O'Day chipped in with seven rebounds, and senior guard Kelsey Schmitt led the visitors with three assists.
The teams combined for 167 field goal attempts on the night with Lake Forest shooting 36.4 percent and the Eagles just 32.2 percent. After making 14 of 15 free throws, the Foresters are shooting 74.7 percent from the line this season. The visitors had a slight 59-58 edge in rebounds on Monday but committed 19 turnovers while forcing just 10.
Neither team led by more than two points in the first quarter and the score was tied eight times in the period, including at 16-16 when the buzzer sounded. Benedictine pulled out to a six-point led in the second but the Foresters trimmed the margin to a single point (32-31) by halftime.
The Eagles scored the first eight points of the third quarter to take a 40-31 lead but Lake Forest responded with 16 in a row to grab a seven-point edge. The home team closed back to within a point before a three-pointer by Brooks at the buzzer gave the Foresters a 50-46 lead at the end of the period. The margin grew to 10 points early in the fourth but Benedictine battled back and went ahead by one with 80 seconds to play in regulation. A pair of free throws by Schoenlein with 44 seconds left put the visitors back on top and two more from Burton with 13 seconds on the clock made it a three-point game. The Eagles, however, connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.
The teams traded three-pointers to start the extra period with Brooks creating the 13th tie of the game. Benedictine scored the next four points and led by as many as five before another Brooks three-pointer in the final five seconds accounted for the game's final score.
The non-conference loss dropped the Foresters' overall record on the season to 2-3 while Benedictine improved to 2-1.
Lake Forest will resume Midwest Conference play with a pair of hime games this weekend. The team will take on Cornell College Friday night at 7:30 and Grinnell College the following afternoon at 3:00.
