THE BASICS
Score: Oral Roberts 81 – UNLV 85
Records: ORU (0-1) (0-0); UNLV (1-0) (0-0)
Location: Mabee Center – Tulsa, Okla.
 
TULSA, Okla. – Keni Jo Lippe scored 21 points in the Oral Roberts women's basketball team's season opener loss to UNLV Tuesday evening, 85-81, at the Mabee Center.
 
The Golden Eagles fell into a 12 point hole to start the game. UNLV went on a 9-2 run to lead 19-7 in the first five minutes of the game. ORU was then able to cut the deficit to six to end the first quarter. The Lady Rebels started the game strong going 77 percent from the field. Hot shooting for UNLV continued midway through the second as the visitors extended their lead back to seven. Keni Jo Lippe then tied the game with 1:44 left in the first half on a second chance layup. Lippe then hit another bucket to give the Golden Eagles a two point lead with a minute left and ORU led 39-37 at the break.
 
ORU and UNLV score the majority of their first half points in the paint with the Golden Eagles having 26 and the Lady Rebels scoring 22. In the second half, the two team's each had 20 paint points.
 
Offensively, ORU took a third quarter lead when Ariel Walker hit a three-point jumper with two minutes to play in the quarter. The Golden Eagles went on a 9-2 run, that went into the fourth quarter, to take a six point lead with 8:32 to play. The Lady Rebels went up by two with 4:03 to play and maintained the advantage. Down the stretch, UNLV went up by as much as six. ORU had the chance to make it a two point game at the buzzer, but Lippe's layup was waved off to make it an 85-81 final score.
 
Four Golden Eagles scored in double-digits in the game with Lippe leading with 21, it was her 24^th 20-point game of her career. Returner Ariel Walker had 12 points on the night going 50 percent from the field. Making their debuts in an ORU uniform, Delaney Nix and Hannah Cooper each had 10 points, respectively. Freshman Trinity Moore started her career strong with nine rebounds.
 
THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Keni Jo Lippe scored 21 points and Trinity Moore had nine rebounds.  
UNLV: Essence Booker captured 21 points and Desi-Rae Young had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
                                                                                                                                                  
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU shot 47.7 percent overall in tonight's game.
- ORU out-rebounded UNLV, 40-32.
- The Golden Eagles had a 43.8 percent three-point average.
- ORU turned the ball over 19 times, but forced the Lady Rebels to turn the ball over 15 times.
- Keni Jo Lippe had 21 points with three rebounds and three assists.
- Delaney Nix scored 10 points with three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
- Ariel Walker captured 12 points with three boards.
- Hannah Cooper had a solid 10 points with five rebounds and three steals.
- Newcomer Hannah Cooper tallied eight assists and two steals in the game.
- ORU had 29 bench points in tonight's game.
- Golden Eagles capitalized with 16 points off of turnovers and 46 points in the paint.
 
Up Next
ORU will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to face Colorado State Monday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CST.
 
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 Golden Eagles Front Row App at ORUAthletics.com/frontrow or in the App Store.