CHICAGO – A tough shooting night magically went away late in the fourth quarter to help Roosevelt outlast Trinity Christian 73-66 at the Goodman Center on Saturday afternoon.

In a battle of the two teams tied for the final spot in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, the Lakers and Trolls threw their best shots at each other for 40 minutes. Neither team was able to gain much separation and the teams were knotted at 59 with 3:06 left when Roosevelt took timeout. That chance to breathe injected the Lakers (8-12, 6-9 CCAC) with the confidence they needed to shake off a rough day from the field in the first 37 minutes.

The Lakers made just three of their first 20 attempts from behind the arc, but out of the timeout, Jayla Turchin let it fly from long range and hit nothing but net to push the Lakers in front. Turchin then grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end and Gabby Beggs drove the lane for a layup to put Roosevelt up by five. A Trinity Christian basket didn't deter Beggs from 3-point range and she calmy sank the triple as Roosevelt knocked down its only 3-point attempts of the fourth quarter.

Roosevelt made just one-third of its attempts in the first three quarters, troubled by some bad luck that kept a few great looks from dropping. Yet when it counted in the fourth quarter, the Lakers made 5 of 9 from the field and knocked down all 12 free throws in the final 10 minutes to secure the victory. Beggs scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter while Amelia McNutt contributed eight of her 15 points in the final quarter.

Both teams had extended runs in the first half that swung the momentum in the contest. Roosevelt closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take the lead after 10 minutes. Turchin then extended it to 12 straight points at the start of the second with an off-balanced 3-pointer as the shot clock expired that smoothly banked in. Turchin scored 14 of her team-best 23 points in the first half, including a critical last-second layup to give the Lakers a one-point halftime advantage.

The Lakers needed that layup to keep the lead after Trinity Christian scored 12 straight points after Roosevelt increased its lead to 11 near the midway point of the quarter. Roosevelt went more than six minutes between baskets, both Turchin layups, and shot just 4 of 16 from the floor in the second quarter.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to take a lead larger than three until Roosevelt scored the final four points of the frame. It looked like the Lakers might be able to pull away after scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter as well. However, the Trolls had one more riddle up their sleeves, and pulled out some pressure to go on a 12-2 run to force the 59-59 tie.

However, the Lakers were able to keep their composure against the Trinity Christian press, oftentimes succumbing to missing open shots. Meanwhile, Roosevelt successfully mixed up its own defenses to keep the Trolls guessing, and scored 26 points off Trinity Christian's 22 turnovers.   

Roosevelt returns to the court Wednesday when it hosts St. Francis at the Goodman Center for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.