Second-Half Scoring Surge Leads Lake Forest to Victory Over Knox
Kristen Fink scores career-high 12 points in win

Kristen Fink shot 6-for-8 and scored a career-high 12 points.

Senior guard Kristy Freeman (Palatine, IL/Palatine) led all players with 15 points and five assists. Senior forward Kristen Fink (Menasha, WI/St. Mary's Central) scored a career-high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and added four rebounds and three steals in 17 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Lizzy Bauer (Madison, WI/Madison West) also reached double figures with 11 points and added five rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a blocked shot. Junior guard Devon Liebl (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Pius XI) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and scored nine points.

Lake Forest shot 48.1% from the field in the game and 65.4% in its 46-point second half. The Foresters connected on just three of 11 three-point attempts but shot 17-of-24 (70.8%) from the free throw line. The Prairie Fire shot 37.1% from the floor, 6-of-20 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 from the foul line. Lake Forest out-rebounded its guests 41-29 but committed three more turnovers (22-19).

The game’s first score, a three-pointer by Freeman, was followed by a 12-2 Knox run that gave the visitors a 12-5 lead after 10 minutes of play. The margin grew to eight points (15-7) with fewer than eight minutes remaining in the period before Lake Forest finally put together an 8-2 run to pull to within a basket. The score was tied at 20, 22, 24, and then at 26 as the halftime buzzer sounded.

Freeman also made a three-pointer to start the second half. Knox scored on a pair of baskets to take what turned out to be its last lead of the game at 30-29. The home team pulled ahead by five point twice before the Prairie Fire came back to tie the score at 43 with 11:21 remaining. Ten straight Forester points, the first eight by non-starters, over the next four minutes gave Lake Forest the lead for good. Knox cut the lead to three points (55-52) with 4:22 to play but was outscored 17-5 the rest of the way.

Lake Forest will play at home again this weekend (January 21-22). The Foresters will host Ripon College Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Lawrence University Saturday afternoon at 2:00. Ripon and Lawrence are currently tied atop the conference standings with a 5-1 league record.