THE BASICS
Score: Oral Roberts 81 – Arkansas State 62
Records: ORU (1-4) (0-0); Ark St. (4-3) (0-0)
Location: Mabee Center – Tulsa, Okla.
  
TULSA, Okla. – In commanding fashion, the Oral Roberts women's basketball team won their first contest of the 2021-22 season with a 81-62 victory inside the Mabee Center on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles never trailed after the 2:10 mark in the first quarter as they cruised to victory.
 
Saturday's victory snapped an 11-game losing streak for the Golden Eagles, dating back to February 5. The matchup was the first ever meeting between Oral Roberts and Arkansas State and the Golden Eagles first victory over the Red Wolves. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by a pair of double-digit scorers in Tirzah Moore and Faith Paramore. 12 different Golden Eagles saw time in Saturday's contest and all 12 made it into the scoring column.
 
Arkansas State jumped out to a 7-3 lead within the first 1:42 before Keni Jo Lippe connected on a three-pointer to bring ORU back within one. Paramore then sent the Golden Eagles on a 7-0 run, connecting on a pair of triples and hitting a shot from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles went up by as many as 8 points, closing out the first quarter on a 9-0 run.
 
In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles saw their increase to as many as 11 after a 7-0 run over a nearly three minute stretch. Highlighting the run, Katie Scott finished through contact and connected on the free throw to cap off the three-point play. To close out the first half, the Golden Eagles and Red Wolves continued to trade baskets and ORU took a 39-35 lead into the break.
 
More of the same continued into the third quarter as the Golden Eagles continued to fire on all cylinders. With 3:37 remaining in the quarter, Regan Schumacher forced a steal and then finished off the fast break layup to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 18. On the following possession, Schumacher swatted a Red Wolves shot out of bound. Ariel Walker closed the quarter with a floater in the paint to push the lead to 20. The Golden Eagles shot 64.3 percent in the third quarter, their best frame of the day.
 
With 4:47 to play, the Golden Eagles saw their lead swell to a game-high 27 points when Paramore sunk a pair of free throws. In the fourth quarter, eight of the 10 Golden Eagles who saw action scored, led by six points from Hannah Cooper.
  
THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Tirzah Moore became the second Golden Eagle to reach the 20-point mark in a game this season. Moore also pulled down six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists to lead ORU offensively.
Arkansas State: Morgan Wallace led the Red Wolves in both scoring and rebounding, pouring in 12 points and snagging seven boards.
                                                                                                                                                   
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU shot 45.0 percent from the floor in the game, connecting on 36.4 percent of long-range attempts.
- Tirzah Moore's 20 points marked a new career high, surpassing her previous high of nine.
- Paramore reached double-digit scoring for the sixth time in her career with 10 points.
- Katie Scott dished out five assists to lead the Golden Eagles.
- Tirzah Moore, Trinity Moore, and Paramore each split the team-high with six rebounds on Saturday.
- ORU outscored Arkansas State 26-8 off of turnovers and 36-30 in the paint.
- The Golden Eagles forced a season-best 19 turnovers on Saturday.
- ORU won the battle on the boards 43-39.
  
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will play in game two of the ORU Thanksgiving Classic Sunday, Nov. 28 against Little Rock at 2 p.m. inside the Mabee Center.
  
For the latest information on ORU women's basketball, follow @ORUWBB on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.  Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the new ORU Athletics app in the Google Play or App stores.