CHICAGO – Roosevelt overwhelmed Purdue Northwest in the second half of a dominant 100-69 win over the Pride in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Thursday in the Goodman Center.

The Lakers (3-6, 1-2 GLIAC) led for almost the entire game save for a 15-second blip in which the game was tied at 4. However, there were some tense moments for Roosevelt, and the Lakers responded with the knockout punch.

Roosevelt led by 19 with four minutes left in the second quarter, but scored just two points for the remainder of the half as the lead shrunk to 12. Purdue Northwest began the
second half by further digging into the deficit, trimming it to seven just three minutes into the third quarter. Luka Malinka converted a three-point play 20 seconds later, triggering a 19-0 run that lasted a little more than four minutes.

The third quarter was an example of the team effort that paced the Lakers throughout the game en route to their first conference victory. Six different players scored at least four points for Roosevelt in the third quarter and the Lakers shot nearly 70 percent from the field. Seven different players scored in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers polish off the victory over the Pride as the Lakers slowed down to make only 53 percent of their shots.

Malinka led the team with 23 points, but Marie Outlay was close behind her with 21 points. Kencia Levasseur came off the bench for a season-best 16 points while Jayla Turchin added 12, Jalyssa Carrasco scored 11 and Alexia Lohman contributed 10. Four of those six players who finished in double figures also added at least seven rebounds behind Levasseur's team-high nine. Carrasco and Turchin tied at the top with six assists each, spreading the ball around to find the open shooter as the Lakers pulled away.

Roosevelt relied on its defense early in the game as the team had six steals in each of the first two quarters. Outlay paced it all with five thefts in the first half and the Lakers scored 15 points off turnovers to help build the lead. In the second half, the defense didn't force as many turnovers, but the Lakers held the Pride to less than 29 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.

Yet it was the offense that eventually stole the show as the Lakers hit the century mark at home for the first time in more than a decade. Roosevelt also surpassed 50 points in the half for the first time in more than a year and scored 30 in a quarter for the first time in nearly a year. Overall, the Lakers shot 49.3 percent from the floor, their best mark this season, and outrebounded Purdue Northwest 51-36.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt will look to extend their winning start to the New Year on Monday when it visits Parkside for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in Kenosha, Wis.