CEDAR CITY, Utah �€" The Oral Roberts University
women's basketball team tied a school record with 62 points in the
second half, breaking open a tied ball game before cruising to a
92-71 victory over Southern Utah, Wednesday night at the Spectrum.
The win was ORU's fourth straight in Cedar City and pushed their
record to 2-0 in Mid-Con play.
The Golden Eagles program had reached the 62-point plateau in a
half twice previously, but not since they did so as the Lady Titans
in a 106-53 rout of Missouri Southern on Feb. 26, 1983.
The two teams ended a roller coaster first half with a 30-30 tie,
but ORU (8-5, 2-0) came out on fire in the second stanza, shooting
66.7 percent (24-36) from the floor, including a scorching 73.3
percent (11-15) from long range.
The Golden Eagles finished the night with 15 three-point baskets,
establishing a new school record in the process. The previous
school mark of 14 bombs was set on two occasions, the last coming
in a 98-88 win over Southern Nazarene at the Mabee Center on Jan.
15, 1991.
The record fell with just 3:03 left in the ball game with
Leah Cannon (Adelaide, Australia) knocked down her
fifth triple of the night to give ORU an 83-65 advantage.
Cannon finished the game with a double-double of 15 points and 10
assists, while committing just one turnover in 22 minutes of
work.
The Golden Eagles found themselves in a large hole early on,
trailing Southern Utah (7-7, 0-3) by 17-point margin, 19-2, at the
12:51 mark of the first half. But ORU responded with a 17-3 run
over the next 5:21 to cut the deficit to just three points at
22-19.
The visitors kept whittling away at the lead and had the game
knotted up at 30-30 by halftime. An Elisha Turek
(Council Bluffs, Iowa) three-point basket gave the Golden Eagles
their first lead at 33-30, and they never looked back.
Turek finished the night with 15 points and seven boards, while
Sarah Davidson (New South Wales, Australia) came
off the bench to lead all scorers with 18 points. Davidson went
4-of-8 from long range while adding four rebounds and three
assists.
Rachel Watman (Sydney, Australia) and
Jenny Hardin (Claremore, Okla.) each chipped in
with 11 points for ORU.
The Golden Eagles also forced 23 SUU turnovers, turning the miscues
into 28 points.
Cheryl Grant led the Thunderbirds with 17 points, while Cassie Hahl
added 13 points and six assists.
ORU will now return home to host two-time defending regular season
champ Western Illinois this Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Mabee Center.
Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.
--ORU--
