Shorthanded Lakers Battle In Defeat

CHICAGO – Shorthanded due to illness, Roosevelt put up a strong fight at home before eventually falling 78-68 to Trinity International on Saturday in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Goodman Center.

The grit was evident all over the scoresheet for the Lakers as they battled with the bigger Trojans on every possession. Despite being at a size disadvantage, Roosevelt only lost the rebounding battle 50-45 while coming down with 19 offensive rebounds. The Lakers turned those offensive boards into 13 second-chance points and also put up 40 points in the paint. Yet it was the defense that literally stole the show with 13 steals as part of Roosevelt's 21 takeaways that led to 18 points.

The Lakers (1-5, 1-3 CCAC) trailed for a majority of the contest, but they never let the Trojans actually pull away with the victory. Every time Trinity International threatened to take control of the game, Roosevelt had a response to keep things interesting. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers flipped the script on their struggles to create a surge while tired.

With 6:25 left, the Trojans held their biggest lead of the game at 11, but Roosevelt dominated the next two minutes with hustle and grit. Beatrice Bruno drove in for a tough layup then a steal from Erionna Moore led to a Kencia Levasseur layup at the other end. After a stop, Levasseur missed a 3, but Bruno was there to collect the offensive rebound and kick it out to Gabrielle Beggs for a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run.

Roosevelt put together several other runs over the course of the game to cut into Trinity International's lead. The Trojans led by eight with 6:03 left in the second quarter, but the Lakers scored nine of the next 11 points to trim the deficit to one. The same thing happened in the third quarter as well as the Trojans pushed their advantage into double figures only for the Lakers to cut it back to one possession.

The forced change in the rotation gave several new faces time to shine, and no one took advantage of that opportunity more than Levasseur. The freshman came off the bench to score 20 points in 23 minutes of action, giving the Lakers a lift with her energy and toughness. She made 9 of 15 from the floor during her time on the floor and secured four of her six rebounds on the offensive glass. She also added three steals, joining Beggs and Bruno in sharing the team lead.

Amelia McNutt scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds despite missing most of the second half due to foul trouble. She shared the team lead in rebounds with Chyna Scott, who added 10 points and two blocks. Beggs scored 13 points in her first start of the season and tied McNutt with a team-best four assists.

The Lakers return to the court on Tuesday evening against St. Francis in Joliet for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.