Foresters Edged Out by Alma at Post Exam Jam

Junior guard Tara Gloystein scored a career-high 14 points but the Lake Forest College women's basketball team was defeated 71-65 by Alma College Friday evening at Hope College's Post Exam Jam.

While Gloystein fell just one rebound shy of her first career double-double, Forester senior guard Michelle Ricolcol accomplished the feat with 13 points and a career-high 10 boards. She also dished out a game-high five assists.

Two other Foresters reached double figures in point and yet another in rebounds. Junior forward Brie Majkowski and freshman forward Paige Bobos came off the bench to score 10 points apiece while senior forward K.C. Stralka finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and a pair of blocked shots.

Lake Forest out-rebounded the Scots 49-42 but committed 20 turnovers compared to just 13 by Alma. Thirty-three of the Foresters' 65 field goal attempts were from three-point range, the third-highest single-game total in team history. Unfortunately just nine of those shots and only 33.8 percent of their field goat attempts overall went through the hoop while Alma shot slightly better at 37.7 percent from the field and 6-for-18 from beyond the arc.

The Foresters led after each of the first three quarters. Ricolcol had eight points in the opening period and, after six lead changes, her team led 18-16 at the buzzer. The lead changed hands six more times in the second and a 7-0 run to close out the period gave Lake Forest a 33-27 edge at halftime.

A 12-3 run by Alma in the third quarter put the Scots ahead 43-40 but the Foresters scored the next seven points to regain the advantage. The lead switched two more times with Majkowski closing out the quarter with a basket to put Lake Forest ahead 52-51. The Scots scored less than 20 seconds into the fourth and led by as many as six before Gloystein another seven-point run by the Foresters, which included a three-pointer and another jumper by Gloystein, gave them a 65-64 lead with 3:48 to play. Lake Forest did not score again, however, and a basket by the Scots with 3:27 remaining accounted for the 19th and final lead change of the contest.

The Foresters fell to 3-4 while Alma improved to 2-5 on the season. Lake Forest will take on Hope Saturday afternoon at 3:00 (EST).