INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.
�€" Oral Roberts University�€™s
women�€™s basketball team fell to IUPUI, 60-56,
in Mid-Continent Conference play on Monday night at The Jungle. The
loss ended ORU�€™s five game winning streak.
IUPUI�€™s Julia Whitted scored the first basket
of the game at the 19:39 mark and the Jaguars never trailed in the
first half.
After a layup by
IUPUI�€™s Alicia Booyer increased the home
team�€™s lead to 10-6 at the 15:38 mark, neither
team would score until an IUPUI (13-15, 7-7 Mid-Con) bucket with
9:02 to play. ORU (19-10, 8-6 Mid-Con) went 8:02 with out scoring a
point in the first half.
But
ORU�€™s offense started to come alive in the
closing minutes as Katie Langford (Arthurton,
Australia) and Sarah Davidson (New South Wales,
Australia) made 3-pointers in the final 1:23.
The Golden Eagles
struggled from the floor shooting at a 34.5 percent shooting clip
for the first half. IUPUI had their own shooting struggles as the
Jaguars shot 38.7 percent. ORU went into the locker room at
halftime trailing, 25-22.
Janae
Voelker (Newton, Kan.) kept the Golden Eagles in the game
with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.
IUPUI�€™s defense held Elisha
Turek (Council Bluffs, Iowa) almost scoreless in the first
half. The senior had two points on 1-of-5 shooting.
It was a tale of
two halves for Turek though as the senior posted 14 points in the
second half. After another 3-pointer by Langford, Turek scored 10
straight ORU points as the last bucket gave the Golden Eagles its
first lead of the game at 37-36.
After IUPUI
regained the lead, ORU fought right back with a 3-pointer by
Jenny Hardin (Claremore, Okla.) at 7:34 for a
48-46 ORU advantage. It was the largest and last lead the Golden
Eagles would hold.
IUPUI would tie the
game on their next possession on a lay-up by Tiffany Finkton and
then took the lead for good, 50-48, with 4:57 to play. The Jaguars
held at least a one point advantage the rest of the game.
A pair of free
throws by Davidson with 14 seconds to play cut
IUPUI�€™s lead to three, 59-56. The Golden Eagles
fouled on the inbounds right away but Jernisha Cann missed on the
front end of the 1-and-1, giving ORU one last chance to tie the
game.
A 3-pointer by
Hardin with four seconds left would not fall giving the Jaguars the
win.
Three Golden Eagles
scored in double figures; led by Turek with 16 as Langford added 11
points and Hardin produced 12.
IUPUI was led by
Cann with 15 points and Julie Whitted had a double-double, scoring
10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
ORU returns to
action next weekend in the Mid-Con Tournament in Tulsa. The Golden
Eagles are the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 UMKC on Sunday at
2:25 p.m.
-ORU-
