CHICAGO – Marie Outlay made two critical defensive plays in the final 30 seconds to lift Roosevelt to a 66-62 win over Wayne State on Monday evening at the Goodman Center.

The sophomore was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week earlier in the day, and she more than backed up that honor against the Warriors. Outlay tied the program record with nine steals, her last one coming with 11 seconds left to protect a one-point Lakers lead. She then retrieved the final rebound from Wayne State's missed shot with four seconds left and made a free throw to secure the win.

Outlay had just two points in the first half as Roosevelt (10-12, 8-8 GLIAC) struggled to find consistent offense from anywhere. In the second half, the Lakers were able to pressure the Warriors a lot more and that led to some easy points in transition for Outlay. She scored eight points on 4 of 7 shooting in the third quarter to help the Lakers claw back and take a one-point lead after 30 minutes. She finished the game with 13 points and seven rebounds in addition to her nine thefts.

Monday was not a great night for Roosevelt's star players on offense, as the shots were not falling at their usual rate. However, the Lakers' role players came off the bench and more than picked up the slack. Makiah Hawk had three rebounds and three blocks in a little more than nine minutes of action, helping make shots more difficult on the interior. Kencia Levasseur, though, was a bulldozer on the interior with 12 points and eight rebounds while muscling out the bigger Warriors defenders.

Luka Malinka scored 11 of her team-best 15 points in the second half and Lexie Sinclair grinded her way to 10 points as well. Jayla Turchin scored just six points on 3 of 13 shooting, but grabbed several critical defensive rebounds in the second half and also finished with four steals. 

It was a contest that featured lots of highs for both sides as the lead swung wildly between the two teams. Wayne State opened up a 20-7 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter before Roosevelt closed the period on an 11-0 run. The Warriors again grew the lead to 14 with 2:36 left in the first half, but the Lakers answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit in half entering the locker room.

Roosevelt had a similar feeling in the fourth quarter when it came close to running away with a nine-point lead with six minutes left in the game. However, Wayne State quickly scored the next nine points to tie the game and keep the suspense for the final three minutes.

With the game tied at 60, Malinka fought through traffic for a layup only for Wayne State to answer back with a layup with 1:38 left. With 30 seconds left, Levasseur drew a foul while battling for a rebound and split her free throws to give the Lakers a one-point edge. On the Warriors' next possession, Outlay read the cross-court pass and stepped in the way to intercept it and raced away to find Jalyssa Carrasco. The senior point guard made a pair at the line then Outlay grabbed the long rebound from Wayne State's 3-point attempt and tried to run out the clock.

UP NEXT: The Lakers continue their homestand Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Michigan Tech on a special day in Chicago. At halftime of the game against the Huskies, Roosevelt will retire its first-ever jersey, honoring two-time All-American Casey Davis by lifting her jersey to the rafters.