MILWAUKEE – The 23rd-ranked Roosevelt women's basketball team could not overcome a tough shooting afternoon that was compounded by efficient offense from 17th-ranked Cardinal Stritch, as the Lakers suffered an 82-61 road defeat to the Wolves at Panella Court on Saturday.
Casey Davis led the Lakers (9-3, 6-2 CCAC) with 12 points, while Maria Tamburrino chipped in 11 points and six rebounds. Rookie Becky Williford added nine points and seven rebounds from her point guard spot.
Michelle Piepenburg led the Wolves (10-3, 8-2 CCAC) with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The loss marked the first time this season that Roosevelt has lost consecutive games. All three of the Lakers' defeats have come at the hands of nationally-ranked squads.
The Lakers were also without the post presence of Kiara Towles due to injury.
Roosevelt shot 32 percent (20-for-63) from the field as a team, hitting only nine of its 31 attempts in the game's first 20 minutes. On the opposite end, Cardinal Stritch was able to hit at a clip of 53 percent (35-for-66) to add to the Lakers' challenges.
The Lakers held a one-point lead early in the game, but Roosevelt went scoreless over the course of more than five minutes to allow the Wolves to build a 12-point lead. The Lakers would get no closer than 10 as the hosts used their hot shooting to keep Roosevelt from mounting a comeback.
"Stritch started out hot and we weren't able to do much to slow them down," said Roosevelt head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells. "We struggled to find our rhythm offensively.
"We haven't played with the same hustle and scrappiness this week as we usually do," Scherr-Wells continued. "We have a lot of tough games ahead of us, and we're going to need to toughen up in a hurry."
Roosevelt will take a break from games for final exams until Friday, Dec. 14, when the Lakers visit UIC for an exhibition contest at the UIC Pavilion at 7 p.m.
