CEDAR CITY, Utah—
Janae Voelker scored eight of her 18 points
in overtime and
Mariana Camargo scored the game-winning basket
with five seconds remaining to lead Oral Roberts University to a
76-74 Summit League win over Southern Utah, Monday at the Centrum
Arena.
With the win, ORU improves to 13-14 overall and 6-10 in conference
play, moving the Golden Eagles closer to securing a spot in next
month's Summit League Tournament.
In the extra session, Voelker scored ORU's first six points, and
gave the Golden Eagles a 68-65 lead on a jumper with 2:40 left.
A bucket and a pair of free throws by Southern Utah's Challis
Pascucci gave the Thunderbirds (9-18, 5-11) a 69-68 edge with 1:48
remaining, but a three-pointer by Georgia
Jones put ORU up 71-69 with 1:15 to play.
Camargo and Voelker combined to make three free throws in the final
minute for a 74-71 ORU lead, but a three by Cassie Platt tied the
game at 74 with 15 seconds left, setting the stage for Camargo's
winning shot.
After leading by as many as 15 in the second half, the Golden
Eagles had to scramble late in regulation just to get to overtime.
With ORU leading 49-34, Southern Utah went on a 22-7 run, tying the
game at 56-56 on a layup by Kaila Goff with 5:16 to play.
ORU briefly regained the lead when an Amy
Pryor three-pointer made it 59-56, but the T-Birds responded by
scoring the next six points for a 62-59 lead with 2:15 remaining.
Southern Utah held the lead until Pryor drained her fourth trey of
the night, knotting the score at 62-62 with 15 seconds left in
regulation and sending the game to overtime.
Voelker scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Camargo
added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Pryor led ORU in
scoring with 19 points, while freshman Jordan
Pyle contributed 10 points and a team-high 11 boards.
The Golden Eagles shot 42.2 percent for the game, including 38.1
percent (8-21) from 3-point range. ORU was 14-of-18 from the free
throw line, and the bench out-scored Southern Utah, 29-16.
The Thunderbirds were limited to 37.5 percent shooting, which
includes a 5-of-21 effort from beyond the arc. Southern Utah won
the rebound battle, 46-41.
ORU returns to action against North Dakota State, 2:05 p.m.,
Saturday, Feb. 28 at Mabee Center.
--ORU--
