Box Score
TULSA�€"Leah Cannon (Adelaide,
Australia) and Elisha
Turek (Council Bluffs, Iowa) combined to score 49 points
and Oral Roberts University rallied from a 16-point second half
deficit as the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles pulled off a stunning
72-70 overtime win against top seed Western Illinois, putting ORU
in the tournament title game for the third time in six years.
The Golden Eagles
(17-12) will take on number two seed
Valparaiso, a 66-64 winner over UMKC in the day's other semifinal,
in Tuesday's 2:30 p.m. title game.
After trailing 27-16 at
halftime and being down 32-16 with 18:17 left in regulation the
Golden Eagles began a furious rally, trimming the 16-point deficit
down to nine on Claudia Louis' (Baton
Rouge, La.) breakaway layup with 15:53 to play, making it
34-25.
Western stretched the
lead back out to 14 points at 43-29, but ORU slowly chipped away
and cut the WIU advantage to 47-44 on Turek's put-back basket with
6:58 to go. But Western again quickly pushed the lead back to 12
points when Orinta Kavaliauskiate's 3-point play made it 56-44 with
4:44 remaining.
ORU then went on a
regulation-ending 14-2 run. Cori Williston (Tulsa,
Okla.) made the first of two free throws and, after Louis rebounded
the missed second attempt, then fed Cannon for a 3-pointer at the
top of the key, cutting WIU's lead to 56-48 with 4:31 left.
A steal by Alycia Seay (Big
Cabin, Okla.) and a layup by Turek made it 56-50 with 4:04 to go
and after the teams traded single free throws, Maureen Obudho (Mombassa,
Kenya) hit a layup to put ORU within 57-53 with 2:22 remaining.
Tiffany Cornelius made
one of two free throws, putting Western up 58-53 with 2:10 to play,
but Cannon responded with a driving layup at 2:01 and nailed a
game-tying 3-pointer with 1:22 left. Western misfired on its next
possession, giving ORU a chance to win at the buzzer, but Cannon
missed a short jumper, forcing overtime.
In the extra period,
the teams were tied at 62-62 with 3:48 left before Turek hit a
layup and Williston buried a deep 3-pointer with the shot clock
winding down for a 67-62 lead with 1:38 to go.
After a pair of free
throws by Lisa Bergvalde cut it to 67-64 ORU with 52 seconds left,
two free throws by Turek pushed the lead to 69-64 with 22 second to
play. But Western wasn't done as Rita Castans hit a pair of deep
3-pointers, sandwiched around two more Turek free throws, as ORU's
lead was trimmed to 71-70.
Katie Langford (Arthurton,
Australia) then made the first of two free throws for a 72-70 lead
with :02 remaining, but her second free throw rimmed out and the
ball was batted away before Western could get off a shot.
The Golden Eagles won
for just the second time this season when trailing at halftime. It
was ORU's sixth straight win overall, the longest winning streak in
13 years.
ORU won despite
shooting 18-of-35 (51.4 percent) from the free throw line. The
Golden Eagles managed to shoot 43.1 percent from the field,
including 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second half. For the second
straight game, ORU's defense was outstanding as the Golden Eagles
held the Westerwinds to 37 percent shooting for the game.
Tuek finished with a
career-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her
11th double-double of the season and her second straight
double dip in the Mid-Con Tourney. She was 10-of-20 from the field
including 1-of-3 from 3-point range, and 6-of-7 at the line as she
extended her double-figure scoring streak to 21 consecutive
games.
Cannon had 22 points,
seven assists and two steals, making 7-of-16 from the field, 2-of-6
from 3-point range and 6-of-8 from the line in 43 minutes.
Bergvalde led Western
Illinois with 16 points.
Tuesday's Mid-Con
Tournament championship game will be carried live on Fox SportsNet
and can be seen in the Tulsa are on Cox Communications Ch. 3.
--ORU--
