CLINTON, Iowa – Despite Elie Donovan's career day from downtown and another double-double from Jasmine Kyler, the Roosevelt women's basketball team couldn't hold off a late surge by host Ashford in a 72-62 loss at Kehl Arena on Saturday.
Donovan, a rookie guard, was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and 5-for-5 from the field to register a career-high 14 points during her first double-digit scoring effort for the Lakers (6-11).
Kyler, a fellow freshman, with 12 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the campaign.
Becky Williford added nine points and six assists, while Paige Gallimore also tallied nine points.
Roosevelt shot 52 percent in the first half and led by as many as 10 almost five minutes into the second period before the Saints (10-4) outscored the Lakers 28-12 to close the contest.
The game tightened shortly after Roosevelt established a double-digit lead, and the Lakers nursed a slim margin with the Saints starting to surge closer.
The Lakers saw their lead start to slip away as they struggled from the field in the second half, with a 32 percent clip and just 1-of-8 shooting from three-point range in the final stanza, and Ashford took advantage behind Sarah Vozel's 32-point, 17-rebound effort that had her down for a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) in the second half alone.
During the game's final two-plus minutes, the Saints broke a late 59-59 tie with four straight points tallied by Vozel to ignite a decisive 8-0 spurt that was only ended by Roosevelt's sole second-half trey, a deep ball off the fingertips of Donovan, that made it a 67-62 game with 39 seconds left.
But the damage was done, as the Green and White couldn't score again in the affair's waning moments.
"We have to be better on the boards," Roosevelt head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells said, referring to Ashford's 24-rebound advantage and 23 offensive rebounds that mirrored Roosevelt's defensive rebound total. "We play great defense and then we give up an offensive board time and time again. That was the difference in the game. They had two players [Vozel and Samantha Rodriguez] that killed us and it started with their rebounding.
"It was tough that we gave up a 10-point lead in the second half," Scherr-Wells continued. "We just couldn't hit a shot through that stretch. I thought there were a couple of tough foul calls on loose balls in the last three minutes that gave them free throws and the lead that was tough to come back from."
Roosevelt returns home and heads back into CCAC action when the Lakers host downtown neighbor Robert Morris this Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Goodman Center.
Elie Donovan led the Lakers with 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
