JOLIET, Ill. - The Roosevelt women's basketball team gave ninth-ranked St. Francis (Ill.) all it could handle on its home court, with the Lakers leading the Fighting Saints by one in the game's final seconds, but Kaitlin Aylward's layup as time expired gave USF a 56-55 win over Roosevelt inside the Sullivan Center on Wednesday night.

Nadia Thorman-McKey led the Lakers (1-4, 0-1 CCAC) with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals in the best performance of her nascent Roosevelt career. She went 7-for-9 from the field.

Jasmine Albert added 13 points, Ashley Smoldt tallied nine off the bench and Lindzy Cox scored eight points to go with seven boards.

Ivana Markovic led the Saints (3-2, 1-0 CCAC) with a game-high 17 points.

Roosevelt overcame an early seven-point deficit and battled throughout a close game, which saw 18 lead changes and 12 ties, thanks to defense and an advantageous offense that featured 25 Laker points off of USF's 19 turnovers.

The Lakers also dominated in the paint with 36 close-range points despite the Saints holding a 40-21 lead on the rebounding front.

Roosevelt built a four-point lead with a minute left in the fourth quarter on a steal by Thorman-McKey that resulted in a layup by Cox. Markovic responded with a three-pointer moments later to make it a one-point game.

The Lakers had chances to grow their slim lead but missed a bucket and a pair of free throws, giving USF an opportunity to take the final shot of the game.

After two consecutive fouls by the Lakers late whittled the clock down to three seconds, Kalyn Sias-Chaney found Aylward for the last-second look that resulted in a buzzer-beating bucket.

Wednesday marked the second straight season that Roosevelt fell to St. Francis on a buzzer-beating shot in the teams' CCAC opener.

The Lakers will seek to bounce back on Saturday with a road tilt at St. Ambrose.