TULSA, Okla. �€" Jenny Hardin
(Claremore, Okla.) and Elisha Turek (Council
Bluffs, Iowa) combined for 30 points and 20 rebounds as the Oral
Roberts University women�€™s basketball team
cruised to a 74-54 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Wednesday night at
the Mabee Center.
Hardin led all players with 19 points to go along with eight
rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists; while Turek added 11
points and a game-high 12 boards for her 38th career double-double.
She now has 884 career rebounds, moving her into sole possession of
4th place on the Mid-Continent Conference�€™s
all-time chart.
ORU (5-1) led wire-to-wire, jumping ahead to a 9-0 lead on a
Katie Langford (Arthurton, Australia) three-point
basket just 4:10 into the game. UAPB (0-6) did cut the deficit to
9-7, but the Golden Eagles responded with a 15-1 run
�€" highlighted by three�€™s from
Hardin and Langford �€" to extend the lead out to 16
points, 24-8.
The home side led by double-digits all but 0:07 of the
half�€™s final 12:02, taking a 34-23 lead into
intermission.
ORU shot 41.4 percent (12-29) from the floor in the first half,
including a 45.5 clip (5-11) from long range. They also grabbed 23
rebounds in the first stanza, turning 10 offensive boards into nine
second chance points.
The Lady Lions (0-6) refused to go away during the early stages of
the second half, pulling within 10 points, 39-29, with 15:33 left
to play. But the Golden Eagle defense took over from there,
limiting UAPB to just 12 points over the next 11:22.
Hardin gave ORU their largest lead of the night at 25 points when
she connected from behind the arc for a 66-41 advantage with just
over four minutes left in the game.
From there the Golden Eagles cruised to their 74-54 victory.
For the game, ORU shot 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field and 43.8
percent (7-16) on three�€™s. The Lady Lions,
meanwhile, hit just 33.3 percent (18-54) of their attempts
including a mere 21.4 percent (3-14) from behind the arc.
Langford finished the night with a season-high 14 points, while
taking just eight shots from the field. She also added four
rebounds, four steals, and three assists in just 19 minutes of
action. Elisa Martins (Curtibia, Brazil) chipped
in with 10 points to register the first double-digit scoring outing
of her collegiate career.
Arica Green led the visitors with 13 points, four rebounds, three
assists, and three steals.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action on Saturday, when they
face in-state rival Oklahoma State in the annual Bertha Teague
Classic. The two teams will meet at 1:00 p.m. in the Reynolds
Center on the University of Tulsa campus.
-ORU-
