Lake Forest College Sports Information
February 17, 2007
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters Rout Knox, Will Host MWC Championship Tournament
Team finishes regular season 21-2 overall and 15-1 in Midwest Conference play

Andrea Durante
Lizzy Bauer
Nicole Rivera
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Lake Forest College basketball team, ranked 17th in the nation this week by D3hoops.com, convincingly defeated visiting Knox College 98-55 at home Saturday (February 17) afternoon. The Foresters’ 98 points represent their highest single-game total since a 104-77 victory over National College of Education on December 10, 1990. Lake Forest is now 21-2 overall and finished the regular season with a 15-1 Midwest Conference record. Knox completed the season 2-21 overall and 0-16 in league play.

Senior guard/forward Andrea Durante (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) led the home team with 15 points. She shot 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point range in her final regular season home game. Classmate Lizzy Bauer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) was next on the squad with 11 points and added a team-high four steals. Guard Nicole Rivera (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) was also honored before the game on Senior Day in Lake Forest.

Junior center Nicole Baich (Westchester, Ill./Nazareth Academy) scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Susan Hedrick (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) led the squad with three assists. No Forester played more than 18 minutes and all 16 that played scored at least two points in the lopsided victory.

Lake Forest shot 48.6 percent from the field, 4-for-11 from three-point range, and 24-for-38 from the free throw line. The Prairie Fire shot 34 percent from the floor, 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, and 19-for-31 from the foul line. The Foresters held a commanding 50-31 edge in rebounds and committed just 11 turnovers while forcing 25.

The Foresters scored the game’s first 10 points and used an 8-0 run later in the period to extend their lead to 20 points. The difference reached as many as 22 points twice in the first half, which ended with Lake Forest leading 45-28.

Another 8-0 Forester run gave the home team a 25-point lead early in the second half, the margin reached 30 just a few minutes later, and it surpassed 40 with three-and-a-half minutes to play.

With the victory Lake Forest clinched the top seed and the right to host next weekend's (February 23-24) four-team MWC Championship Tournament. The Foresters will host Lawrence University in the semifinals Friday night at 7:00. The MWC Championship Game on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. will include the winner and the victor of the 5:00 semifinal between Carroll College and St. Norbert College, the second and third seeds, respectively.

Box Score