Sangamon Sun

With a decisive play in the final seconds, Jayln Patterson secured a 70-68 victory for the Lady Blues against Lake Forest on Saturday at the Lake Forest College Sports and Recreation Center. This win brings the Lady Blues to a record of 10-14 overall and 7-9 in the Midwest Conference (MWC), while Lake Forest's record falls to 4-19 overall and 2-12 in the MWC.

The game began with both teams exchanging leads in the first quarter. Lake Forest gained an advantage in the second quarter, leading by nine points. However, the Lady Blues responded with an 11-2 run, leveling the score at 27-27 with four minutes remaining in the first half. At halftime, Lake Forest held a narrow one-point lead.

In the third quarter, Illinois College took control with a dominant 21-2 run, establishing a lead of up to 12 points with three minutes left in that period. The Foresters managed to tie the game again with five minutes left on the clock. With one minute remaining, Peyton Davidson gave Lake Forest a slight edge by scoring, but Jayln Patterson countered for Illinois College by making a game-winning basket with just 14 seconds left. Patterson concluded her performance with 14 points.

The Lady Blues' bench contributed significantly to their success, scoring a total of 40 points. McKenna Christiansen led all scorers from Illinois College with 17 points, hitting four out of six attempts from beyond the arc. Kaity Robison led defensively with four steals while Jayln Patterson and Ashlyn Wightman each secured seven rebounds.

"Blue Notes" indicate that this victory marks three wins out of their last four games for Illinois College, including an important home win against Lawrence University.

Looking ahead, Illinois College will host Knox College on Wednesday, February 19th at 5:30 pm for their final home game of the season.