TULSA, Okla. �€" Oral Roberts University head women's
basketball coach Jerry Finkbeiner earned his 350th
career head coaching victory Monday night, as the Golden Eagles
topped Southern Utah, 71-56, in front of 809 in Mid-Continent
Conference action at the Mabee Center.
Finkbeiner, already the school's all-time winningest coach, is now
350-165 in 16-plus seasons as a head coach, including a 151-131
mark during his tenure at ORU.
Elisha Turek (Council Bluffs, Iowa) was one of
four Golden Eagles to score in double figures, as she recorded her
fifth double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds. She
took just nine shots on the night, hitting five of them while
adding three steals and a block in 35 minutes of work.
Turek now has 747 career boards, giving her sole possession of
second place on ORU's all-time rebounding list.
ORU (12-9, 6-4) trailed 2-0 just 15 seconds into the contest, but
they quickly responded with a 7-0 spurt in a span of 1:17 before
extending the lead out to nine points, 21-12, on an Alycia
Seay (Big Cabin, Okla.) lay-in with 9:05 left in the
half.
By halftime the lead had grown to 12, 34-22, as the Golden Eagles
forced 11 Southern Utah (8-13, 1-10) miscues and turned them into
13 points during the first 20 minutes of play. The visitors shot
just 28.6 percent (8-28) from the floor in the first half, while
ORU connected on half of their attempts (13-26).
The Golden Eagle lead would grow to as many as 21 points in the
second half, as the home squad scored eight unanswered points in
less than three minutes time to take a 55-34 advantage with 10:17
left to play in the game.
The T-Birds tried to make a late run, cutting the deficit 65-52
with 3:32 to go, but Rachel Watman (Sydney,
Australia) and Leah Cannon (Adelaide, Australia)
combined to hit five free throws down the stretch to seal the 71-56
victory for ORU.
The Golden Eagles finished the night shooting 44.2 percent (23-52)
from the floor and out-rebounded SUU 47-38. They also forced 20
T-Bird turnovers, converting them into an extra 23 points.
Watman tied her career-high with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, and
Cannon added 14 points, six assists, and a pair of steals.
Jenny Hardin (Claremore, Okla.) chipped in with 11
points for ORU, while Marianna Camargo (Blumenau,
Brazil) filled the box score with six points, five rebounds, four
assists, and four steals in 27 minutes of work.
As a team, the Golden Eagles combined for eight blocks on the
night, their most since recording nine rejections against Southern
Utah on Jan. 11 of last year.
ORU will now travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to face IUPUI at 3:30
p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The game can be heard live in Tulsa on
AM 970 KCFO or via the web at www.orugoldeneagles.com.
--ORU--
