Green Knights Drop Heartbreaker at Lake Forest

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, January 21, 2020 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - St. Norbert College had a potential game-winning shot be offline at the buzzer and the Green Knights fell 74-72 to Lake Forest College in a tense Midwest Conference game at LFC Sports Center.

The Green Knights held a 57-53 lead after the third quarter and then battled with the Foresters in a hotly contested affair that saw seven lead changes over the final 10 minutes.

St. Norbert trailed 70-67 with 3:16 left before the Green Knights made a last-ditch rally. Jessica Boerner converted a hoop at the 2:39 mark and a Macie Zurfluh jumper put the Green Knights ahead 71-70 with 1:40 to go. Lake Forest went back ahead 72-71 on a Meona Feather basket with 1:12 to go. The Green Knights had an empty possession and the Foresters pushed ahead by three points on a Delaney Sjong basket with 22 seconds left. Zurfluh had a free throw with 13 seconds left to bring St. Norbert to within 74-72, and Lake Forest turned the ball over moments later. But a St. Norbert three-point field-goal attempt at the buzzer missed.

The Green Knights trailed 18-15 after the first quarter but rallied in the second quarter after trailing 23-20. St. Norbert then went on a 7-0 run on a pair of free throws by Boerner, a Zurfluh 3-pointer and another basket by Boerner for a 27-23 lead with 5:20 left. Lake Forest came back to hold a 34-33 lead at halftime.

St. Norbert eventually pushed ahead 41-36 on a Hannah Ciesielczyk basket with 7:05 left in the third quarter, but the Foresters would go on a 12-2 run over the next 2:47 to take a 48-43 lead. The Green Knights rallied again with a 14-5 run to close out the third quarter, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers from Natalie Cerrato and one by Zurfluh.

The Green Knights shot 50.9 percent (28-for-55) from the floor but were just 11-for-20 (55 percent) at the free-throw line. Zurfluh led St. Norbert with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Sarah Neumann added 12 points and Boerner chipped in 10 points.

Lake Forest shot 46.7 percent (28-for-6) from the floor. Kelsey Burton and Katie Neher each finished with 15 points for the Foresters.