TULSA--Leah Cannon
(Adelaide, Australia) set a school record with 15 assists, but
Texas-Arlington out-scored Oral Roberts 38-19 over the final 16:36
for a 74-71 win on Monday at the Mabee Center.
Cannon broke the single-game record
of 14 held jointly by Stacy Williams (vs. Oklahoma City, Jan. 10,
1991) and Lori Radermacher (vs. Hardin-Simmons, Jan. 28, 1985). But
her effort wasn't enough to overcome the Lady Mavs.
ORU (0-2) led 52-36 with 16:56 left
in the game, but UTA (2-0) slowly chipped away and finally tied the
game when Rola Ogunoye's basket made it 61-61 with 6:35 to
play.
The Golden Eagles built the lead back
to four points as consecutive baskets by Cori
Williston (Tulsa, OK) and Cannon gave ORU a 65-61 lead
with 5:06 remaining. But the Lady Mavs responded with another
Ogunoye basket and trey by Krystal Buchanan for a 66-65 lead, their
first since midway through the first half.
The game continued to seesaw back and
forth, with ORU regaining the lead thanks to a pair of free throws
from Turek and a Maureen Obudho (Mombassa, Kenya)
layup for a 69-66 lead with 2:44 left. But again UTA responded as
LaToya Lewis' three tied the game at 69 with 2:27 left, and
Buchanan all but clinched the game with another trey at 1:40 to go
for a 72-69.
ORU had one last chance to force
overtime, but the Golden Eagles missed three three-point attempts
in the final 11 seconds.
The Golden Eagles were dominated on
the boards for the second straight game as UTA held a 42-23
advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds. UTA's bench out-scored
ORU 41-7, and the Lady Mavs shot 59.3 Percent (16-27) in the second
half.
Williston led all scorers with 19
points, adding a team-high six rebounds. Freshman Elisha
Turek (Council Bluffs, IA) had 15 points and five rebounds
for ORU.
Lewis led UTA with 17 points, Ogunoye
had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Terra Wallace chipped in with
11 points.
The Golden Eagles return to action
when they host Bacone, 2:05 p.m., Saturday.
--ORU--
