Third Quarter Woes Spoil Lakers' Upset Bid

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – An explosive run to start the third quarter doomed Roosevelt in a 101-77 setback to Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Association rival Olivet Nazarene on Wednesday evening in Bourbonnais.

The third quarter was really the only stanza that separated the Lakers (6-11, 4-8 CCAC) from the Tigers in the matchup. Roosevelt held its own in the first half, matching Olivet Nazarene stride for stride in an action-packed first quarter that featured 58 points and both teams shooting at least 53 percent from the floor. The Lakers made just a few more shots than the Tigers in the second quarter to take a one-point lead into intermission.

However, the Tigers scored 18 of the first 20 points in the second half to take control of the game and put the Lakers on their heels. Roosevelt made just 4 of 17 from the field in the third quarter while Olivet Nazarene sank half of its 24 attempts, including an impressive 8 of 17 from behind the arc, in the period. Yet Roosevelt's resilience was again on display as it held Olivet Nazarene to just 6 of 22 from the field in the fourth quarter while the Lakers shot 43 percent from the floor over the final 10 minutes.

In need of big performances from their best players, the Lakers' core delivered with strong showings. Jayla Turchin scored 27 points and added 10 rebounds to lead Roosevelt with three other Lakers finishing in double figures scoring as well. Meghan Urbanski scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half to complement Turchin, who scored 13 points without missing a shot in the second quarter. The two transfers scored 20 of Roosevelt's 22 points in the quarter to help Roosevelt win the quarter 22-17 and take a 49-48 lead into halftime.

Amelia McNutt was consistent per usual and added 15 points, the fifth time in the last six games she's scored at least 14 points for the Lakers. The minor surprise was Lauren Gillion coming off the bench to contribute a career-best 11 points. Gillion scored nearly half of Roosevelt's points in the third quarter and finished the night shooting 5 of 10 from the field in 20 minutes of action.

Chyna Scott also made a large contribution off the bench with 10 rebounds of her own despite being limited in scoring. The senior was a major reason the Lakers were able to outscore the Tigers 42-32 in the paint and only lose the rebounding battle 50-48. Scott had three of Roosevelt's 20 offensive rebounds in the game, two of which directly led to 3-pointers for Roosevelt. The Lakers finished with 20 second-chance points in the game.

Roosevelt is hoping to find its first win of 2023 on Saturday back at the Goodman Center when it hosts Calumet St. Joseph at 1 p.m. The Lakers did cruise to a 94-53 win in Indiana earlier this season when the two teams met.