Lake Forest Drops Pair of Games at Grand Canyon Classic
Team will resume conference play January 10

Lisa Nassin

Kelsey James

Claire Schmidt

Sophomore guard Kelsey James (Oak Forest, Ill./Marist) and junior center Lisa Nassin (Evergreen Park, Ill./Evergreen Park) led Lake Forest with a dozen points apiece against Rose-Hulman. Nassin also pulled down 11 rebounds and led the team with four assists and James added five rebounds and four steals. James and junior guard Tracy Rainey (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park), who finished with 11 points, each played all but six of the game's 50 minutes.

The Foresters shot 25 percent from the field, 4-for-19 from three-point range, and 17-for-22 from the free throw line. Rose-Hulman shot 45.3 percent from the floor, made one of five three-pointers, and knocked down 16 of 25 free throws. Lake Forest was out-rebounded 51-45 but forced 36 turnovers while committing 26.

The game was tied at 12 midway through the first half before a 9-0 Forester run. Lake Forest's lead reached as many as 11 points in the period and the score was 28-18 at halftime. James made a three-pointer 30 seconds into the second half but the Foresters were out-scored 8-0 over the next nearly nine minutes of play. Lake Forest extended the lead back to 11 points (39-28) with 8:15 remaining in regulation before a 13-0 Rose-Hulman run gave the Engineers the lead with 3:24 left on the clock. The Foresters then scored seven straight points but were unable to hold the lead and a pair of Rose-Hulman free throws with five seconds to play sent the game into overtime. Lake Forest fell behind by as many as five points in the first overtime but came back and forced a second extra period on a Rainey jumper with 24 seconds on the clock. The Engineers scored on a three-pointer early in the second overtime and led throughout the period.

Lake Forest was originally scheduled to take on Kean on Sunday but delays and canceled flights in Chicago on Saturday prevented the team from leaving on time and caused the game to be delayed until 7:30 Wednesday morning.

Junior forward Claire Schmidt (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) who had nine points on Tuesday, scored a game-high 17 the next morning against Kean. She shot 7-for-13 from the field and added eight rebounds. Nassin and junior guard Paige Keasler (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) also reached doubel figures with 10 points apiece and Nassin pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, narrowly missing her second straight double-double.

The Foresters made 36.8 percent of their field goal attempts, four of 15 three-pointers, and 13 of 20 foul shots. Kean shot 51.9 percent from the floor, 8-for-17 from three-point range, and 10-for-23 from the line. Lake Forest out-rebounded the Cougars 40-33 but committed 25 turnovers while forcing 18.

An 11-2 run by Kean early in the game turned a three-point lead into a 22-10 advantage. The Foresters trimmed the lead to five (28-23) later in the half but trailed 44-37 at halftime. The Cougars extended their lead into double-figures early in the second half and led by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Lake Forest will resume Midwest Conference play on Saturday, January 10, at Knox College. The game will begin at 3:00 p.m. The Foresters' next home game will be the following Tuesday evening (January 13) against Grinnell College at 5:00. Live video webcasts of all league contests are available at www.midwestconference.tv.

Lake Forest - Rose-Hulman Box Score
Lake Forest - Kean Box Score