GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Roosevelt University women's basketball team dropped a non-conference game on the road, losing to Cornerstone University (Mich.) by the score of 65-61 on Wednesday, December 8 at Mol Arena.  The Lakers are now 4-7 overall this season after the loss.

The Lakers fell behind 10-2 in the first quarter, going scoreless for four and a half minutes after a Shawna Conger basket.  With 2:19 to go in the stanza, Amelia McNutt scored on a layup to pull RU to within 14-10 and the quarter ended with the Golden Eagles leading 16-10.

Mallory Hawkins knocked down a three-pointer and CeCe Pope added a layup in the first minute of the second quarter to make it a one-point game at 16-15.  Pope then gave the Lakers their first lead of the game at 19-18 on a jump shot with 8:02 remaining and she hit another jumper a minute later to up the lead to 21-18.  However, Cornerstone tied things up at 23-23, but the Lakers went ahead at 27-23 before the Golden Eagles scored eight straight points to lead 31-29 at the half.

Nicole Poole gave the Lakers a 32-31 advantage on a three-pointer to begin the third quarter, but the Golden Eagles regained the lead and held an advantage until halfway through when Jessica White evened the game at 35-35 on a layup and McNutt put RU up 37-35 with 5:04 on the clock.  However, the home team scored 11 of the last 13 points of the period to lead 46-39 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.

Cornerstone pushed its lead to 10 points at 49-39 a minute into the final quarter and increased that lead to 56-43 with 6:22 to go in the contest.  The Lakers made a push in the final minutes and cut the deficit down to a point at 60-59 on a Pope layup with 2:02 remaining.  The Golden Eagles scored the next three points before Gabrielle Beggs hit two free throws with 42 seconds left to make it a 63-61 game.  RU forced a turnover with 14 seconds to go, but a McNutt layup would not fall and the Lakers were forced to foul with five seconds left on the clock.  Cornerstone hit both free throws to clinch the 65-61 victory.

GAME DETAILS

Score:   Roosevelt            10           19           10           22           61
                Cornerstone      16           15           15           19           65

Records: Roosevelt 4-7 | Cornerstone 2-9

Location: Mol Arena | Grand Rapids, Mich.

KEY STATS

• Amelia McNutt scored a team-high 16 points to go with three assists & four steals
• CeCe Pope registered a double-double with 13 points & 12 rebounds
• Gabrielle Beggs scored eight points & had four steals
• Erionna Moore tallied eight points & seven rebounds
• The Lakers shot 36.7% from the field & just 18.8% from three-point range
• Cornerstone shot 38.2% from the field & 22.2% from behind the arc

NEWS & NOTES

• The Lakers are now 1-1 all-time versus the Golden Eagles
• Roosevelt is 1-3 in non-conference games this season

NEXT UP

The Lakers travel to Lincoln, Ill. on Saturday, December 11 to take on Lincoln College in a CCAC Conference contest.  Tip-off is set for 1pm at the Lincoln Center.