Lakers Drop Heartbreaking CCAC Quarterfinal To RedHawks

CHICAGO – Roosevelt's run in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 57-54 loss to Indiana Northwest in the CCAC Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at the Goodman Center.

The Lakers' defense was ferocious for the entire game, limiting the fifth-seeded RedHawks to just 31 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range. Roosevelt (16-13) led by four after the first quarter after holding Indiana Northwest to 2 of 13 from the field then traded the lead back and forth the rest of the game.

Even though the Lakers trailed by seven near the end of the third quarter, Jayla Turchin sparked the offense with a buzzer beater to cut the deficit to five entering the fourth. The Lakers would claw their way back to within one nearly a minute into the quarter while holding Indiana Northwest off the scoreboard for the first 5:35 of the fourth.

Grace Beyer swished a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49 with 1:48 left then Kencia Levasseur tied the game again on the next possession with a layup. Even with the shots not falling Tuesday, the Lakers competed and earned their way to a last-second shot after Malou Savanna drilled a 3 with 13 seconds left. Beyer had the final chance and her shot cruelly rimmed out despite getting a good look at the basket.

Levasseur led the Lakers for the second game in a row in scoring with 14 points, but it was the defense and rebounding that stole the show for Roosevelt. The Lakers grabbed 63 rebounds in the game, the fifth-most in program history and the most since they secured 69 during the 2014-15 campaign. That included 27 offensive rebounds and holding the RedHawks to just nine second chances.

Turchin and Marie Outlay each had 11 boards, the first time this season Roosevelt had two players with double-digit rebounds in the same game. Turchin also had 13 points for her seventh double-double of the season and Alexia Lohman finished with nine points. Outlay had six assists to lead the team and extended her school record to 87 steals with four more thefts against the RedHawks.

The Lakers are off to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next season for their first year as an NCAA Division II program.