The Forester women's basketball team hosted and defeated Beloit College 73-71 Sunday afternoon in the first Midwest Conference game of the season. Lake Forest junior guard Lindsay Wallaert established new career-highs with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Eight of Wallaert's rebounds came in the second half and six were recorded at the offensive end of the court. She also added two assists and two steals and did not commit a turnover in 28 minutes of playing time.
Junior point guard Sam Schuring led the Foresters with 18 points, five assists, and three steals. Sophomore guard/forward Gina Ambrose scored a dozen points and pulled down six rebounds. She was 6-for-6 from the foul line in the game and is now 20-for-20 at the charity stripe in her career. Junior forward Liz Radtke also reached double figures with 11 points and she matched Schuring's three steals.
Lake Forest shot just 36.8 percent from the floor while the Buccaneers made 43.9 percent of their field goal attempts. The Foresters were also out-rebounded 45-35 but forced 16 turnovers while committing just five, their fewest in recorded team history.
The Foresters led by as many as 13 points (31-18) in the first half but Beloit closed out the period on a 10-0 run and trailed 37-36 at halftime.
The Buccaneers scored the first two baskets of the second half but a 10-3 Forester run that included six points by Radtke put the home team back on top by four. The margin grew to seven (62-55) with seven minutes to play but an 11-4 run by the visitors evened the score at 66 with 1:30 remaining. A layup by junior forward Courtney Faulstick regained the lead for Lake Forest and a pair of free throws by Schuring made it 70-66 with 32 seconds on the clock. After Beloit knocked down two free throws with 21 seconds left, a foul shot by freshman guard Danielle Canulli and two by Wallaert helped secure the victory.
Both teams are now 2-2 overall this season.
The Foresters will play a pair of home games against conference foes next weekend. Lake Forest will host Carroll University at 5:00 Friday evening and Lawrence University at 3:00 the following afternoon.