Freshman guard Kelsey Burton finished just one assist shy of recording the first triple-double in program history in the Lake Forest College women's basketball team's 79-50 victory over visiting Illinois Institute of Technology Monday night.
Burton scored a dozen points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Her nine assists were the most by a Forester since Sam Schuring dished out 13 in December of 2013. Burton set up five of the Foresters' first seven baskets and added three rebounds as the home team jumped out to a 25-12 lead after the opening period. Senior guard Kelsey Schmitt had 11 points in the first 10 minutes en route to a game-high 19-point performance.
The scoring pace slowed for both teams in the second quarter with Lake Forest tallying 12 points and the Scarlet Hawks nine. Burton scored her first basket of the game and added four rebounds and two assists in the period. The home team had 16 assists on the same number of made field goals in the first half.
The Foresters poured in 26 points in the third quarter and expanded their lead to 31 points. Burton scored eight points and grabbed four boards in the period to secure the double-double.
Burton added her ninth assist of the night and added a pair of free throws before the starters exited the game with 6:30 to play. Sophomore guard Zaria Sydnor scored seven points and junior guard Tiffany Stiewe added five in the final period and joined Burton and Schmitt in double figures for the game with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Lake Forest shot 40 percent from the field while Illinois Tech was slightly better at 42.2 percent. The Foresters, however, out-rebounded their guests 50-35 and committed just 12 turnovers while forcing 29.
The non-conference victory improved Lake Forest's overall record on the season to 6-7 while Illinois Tech fell to 0-13.
The Foresters will resume Midwest Conference play on the road this weekend with a 7:30 p.m. game at Grinnell College on Friday and a 3:00 afternoon contest at Knox College on Saturday.
