CHICAGO – The Roosevelt University women's basketball team lost to the University of St. Francis (Ill.) by the score of 84-72 in a CCAC Conference contest on Tuesday, November 23 at the Goodman Center.  The loss dropped the Lakers conference record to 2-3 and their overall record to 2-5 on the year.

The Lakers trailed 8-5 early in the game before the Fighting Saints pushed their lead to 13-5 and continued to extend their advantage to 25-10 with 2:56 left in the first quarter.  Roosevelt ended the opening quarter down 25-14 after a Cece Pope layup and two free throws by Gabrielle Beggs.

St. Francis led by 13 points at 29-16 just under three minutes into the second quarter, but then the Lakers went on an 8-0 run with Ashley Smoldt and Pope both scoring four points each to cut the deficit to 29-24 with 5:57 remaining in the first half.  Roosevelt got as close as four points at 32-28, but the Fighting Saints dominated the final minutes to lead 48-34 at the half.

The Fighting Saints continued their momentum in the third quarter, building a lead as large as 29 points at 71-42 with 1:33 to go and ended the period up 72-46.

The Lakers chipped away at the USF lead in the fourth quarter and pulled to within 76-60 with 5:38 left to play, but the Fighting Saints pushed their lead back up to 19 points.  Roosevelt kept fighting and closed the gap to 80-68 on a Smoldt layup with 1:27 left on the clock, but the deficit was too much to overcome and the Lakers fell 84-72.

GAME DETAILS

Score:   St. Francis            25           23           24           12           84
                Roosevelt            14           20           12           26           72

Records: Roosevelt 2-5, 2-3 (CCAC) // St. Francis 7-2, 5-0 (CCAC)

Location: Goodman Center | Chicago, Ill.

KEY STATS

• Amelia McNutt tallied a team-high 18 points & seven rebounds
• Ashley Smoldt scored 17 points to go with seven assists & six rebounds
• Mallory Hawkins had 11 points
• Nicole Poole registered nine points & three steals
• The Lakers shot just 32% from the field & 22.6% from three-point range
• The Fighting Saints shot 46% overall & 50% from behind the arc
• USF outrebounded RU 48 to 36

NEWS & NOTES

• St. Francis is receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, sitting one spot out of the poll at #26
• The Lakers are now 6-13 versus the Fighting Saints in the all-time series
• Click here to view the current CCAC Conference standings

NEXT UP

The Lakers travel to Wyoming, Mich. on Monday, November 29 to square off against Grace Christian University in a non-conference contest.  Tip-off is scheduled for 4pm at the Aldrich Athletic Center on the campus of Grace Christian.