TULSA, Okla. �€" The Oral Roberts University women's
basketball team couldn't overcome a 29% shooting performance
against Oakland Sunday afternoon as the Golden Eagles dropped a
50-37 decision to the Golden Grizzlies in the first round of the
2006 Toshiba Mid-Continent Conference Tournament.
ORU (16-12) put together a solid defensive performance, holding
Oakland to their third lowest point total of the season, but only
hit 17-of-58 shots from the field, including a 4.5 percent (1-22)
effort from behind the three-point line.
Elisha Turek (Council Bluffs, Iowa) led all
players with 17 points and 14 rebounds, recording her eighth
double-double of the season and 36th of her career. Turek's
performance moved her into 11th place on the Mid-Con's all-time
scoring list by totaling 1,480 points in her first three
seasons.
The Golden Grizzlies (13-15) led the entire first stanza,
increasing their lead to eight points, 18-10, on a Jayme Wilson lay
up with 3:41 to play before intermission. The Golden Eagle defense
completely shut Oakland down from there, however, keeping them
without a field goal the rest of the half as they cut the deficit
to just one point, 18-17, heading into the break.
ORU opened the second half just like they finished the first, as
Turek hit four baskets during a 10-0 run to take a 27-18 lead with
16:16 to play in the ball game. Wilson finally broke through for
the Golden Grizzlies at the 16:05 mark, ending an eleven minute
stretch where Oakland shot just 1-of-11 from the field.
That started a 19-4 run for the Golden Grizzlies as they opened a
six point advantage, 37-31, with 6:41 to play. The Golden Eagles
would only get as close as three the rest of the way, and Oakland
went a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line over the last 1:12
to seal the 50-37 win.
ORU out-rebounded their opposition 43-37 on the afternoon, but the
Golden Grizzlies forced 14 turnovers and converted them into an
extra 13 points.
Marianna Camargo (Blumenau, Brazil) added 10
points and five boards for ORU, while Jenny Hardin
(Claremore, Okla.) had six points and seven rebounds.
Anne Hafeli led the Golden Grizzlies with 17 points and eight
boards and Wilson finished with 12 tallies and seven rebounds.
--ORU--
