Box Score
KANSAS CITY,
MO�€"Elisha Turek (Council
Bluffs, Iowa) scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 15
rebounds, and Oral Roberts went 10-of-10 from the free throw line
in the final 45 seconds as the Golden Eagles downed Oakland 57-49
in the opening round of the Hereford House Mid-Continent Conference
Tournament, Saturday at Kemper Arena.
ORU (16-12) advances to
Monday's semifinals where they will take on top seed
Western Illinois at 12 noon. The Westerwinds advanced by defeating
Chicago State 61-49.
In what was a defensive
battle from the opening tip, ORU had the answers on offense down
the stretch. Alycia Seay (Big Cabin, Okla.) broke a 47-47 tie with
a 15-foot jumper to give ORU a 49-47 lead with 57 seconds to play.
Oakland (17-11) then committed a turnover, sending Turek to the
line and starting ORU's stretch of 10 consecutive free throws to
end the game.
Neither team shot well
and the Golden Eagles managed a 24-22 halftime lead despite
starting 0-for-12 from the
field. But ORU's defense limited the Golden Grizzlies to 32.3
percent shooting in the first half.
ORU looked to pull away
as the second half began when Leah Cannon (Adelaide,
Australia) hit a 3-pointer and Katie Langford (Arthurton,
South Australia) converted a fast-break layup for a 29-22 lead. ORU
would never relinquish the lead, though Oakland kept it close
throughout.
A 6-0 run put the
Golden Grizzlies within 29-28 with 18:42 to play, and after ORU
pushed the lead to 38-31 on Sarah Davidson's (New South
Wales, Australia) 3-pointer with 10:12 to play, Oakland finally
tied the game at 43-all on Nicole Piggott's baseline jumper with
2:52 left.
The Golden Eagles won
despite shooting just 26.9 percent (18-67) from the field by going
18-of-27 from the line and turning 15 Oakland turnovers into 17
points. ORU turned it over just nine times and battled Oakland even
on the boards 48-48.
ORU's defensive effort
helped hold Oakland's top scoring duo of Anne Hafeli and Jayme
Wilson, who entered the game averaging a combined 28 points per
game in conference play, managed to score 27 points between them
but shot a combined 10-for-27, including 2-for-11 from 3-point
range.
Turek was 6-of-18 from
the field and 7-of-10 from the line. Her 5 rebounds rpresent a
career high and the double-double is her 10th of the
season. Cannon added 10 points and six assists.
--ORU--
