Lakers Fall to Rochester 75-66 to Open Women's Basketball Season

ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Roosevelt University women's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season with a 75-66 non-conference road loss to Rochester University on Thursday, October 28 at the Garth Pleasant Arena.

The Lakers took a 9-3 lead to begin the game behind two three pointers by Gabrielle Beggs, but the Warriors rallied to come back and lead 17-14.  However, Roosevelt ended the first quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 22-17 lead.

In the second quarter, RU pushed its lead to nine points at 26-17 on an Amelia McNutt layup and held the lead until Rochester hit a three-pointer with 5:47 left in the half to take a 34-32 advantage.  Both teams struggled offensively for the next three minutes, but the Lakers regained the lead at 38-36 on an Ashley Smoldt jump shot and closed out the half with a 43-41 advantage.

Rochester began the third quarter by hitting a three-pointer to take a 44-43 lead, but once again, both teams stalled offensively and the two teams were tied at 48-48 with 3:29 remaining in the quarter.  The Warriors then scored eight unanswered points in the next minute to build a 56-48 margin and led 59-54 heading into the game's final 10 minutes.

The Lakers scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to make it a 59-56 game, but the Warriors responded to up their lead to 65-58.  RU cut the deficit to 65-62 with 3:37 left to play on back-to-back baskets by McNutt and Smoldt, but that would be as close as the Lakers would get with Rochester pulling off a 75-66 victory.

GAME DETAILS

Score:   Roosevelt            22           21           11           12           66
                Rochester           17           24           18           16           75

Records: Roosevelt 0-1 // Rochester 1-0

Location: Garth Pleasant Arena | Rochester, Mich.

KEY STATS

• Amelia McNutt scored a team-high 16 points in her Laker debut
• Ashley Smoldt registered 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, & three steals
• CeCe Pope posted a double-double with 11 points & 13 rebounds to go with four assists & two steals
• Gabrielle Beggs tallied 11 points
• Nicole Poole had eight points & nine rebounds
• The Lakers shot 46.3% from the field & just 9.4% from behind the arc
• The Warriors shot 35.4% from the field & 25% from three-point range
• Rochester's bench outscored Roosevelt's 35 to 6 in the game

NEWS & NOTES

• This was the first meeting between Roosevelt & Rochester in women's basketball
• Rochester qualified for the NAIA National Tournament last season

NEXT UP

The Lakers continue with non-conference action on Saturday, October 30 when they travel to New Albany, Ind. to take on Indiana University Southeast.  Tip-off is scheduled for 12pm (CST) and fans can watch the game live here.