THE BASICS
Score: Oral Roberts 57 – South Dakota 101
Records: ORU (3-10, 0-2); South Dakota (6-7, 2-0)
Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center – Vermillion, S.D.

VERMILLION, S.D. – The Oral Roberts women's basketball team fell on the road to Summit League foe South Dakota, 101-57, Wednesday afternoon inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, South Dakota.
 
For the fourth straight game, Hannah Cooper led ORU in scoring with 16 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals.
 
With the score tied at 7-7, the Coyotes used a 7-2 run to take a 14-9 advantage at the 6:31 mark of the opening period. Following a split at the foul line by Ruthie Udoumoh, USD extended their run to 12-3 with 4:53 remaining in the period. The Coyotes took their largest lead of the quarter, 22-12, on a Grace Larkins layup with 2:28 left. Both squads split the final eight points of the period as USD took a 26-16 advantage into the second.
 
USD opened the second with an 11-3 stretch that pushed their advantage to 18, 37-19, as 6:50 remained on the clock. A three-pointer from Udoumoh stopped the Coyote surge and sparked an 8-0 ORU run as they trimmed the deficit to 10, 37-27, at the 4:46 mark. USD responded with a 13-2 stretch that gave them their largest lead of the half, 50-29, with 1:08 remaining. Delaney Nix stopped the bleeding for the Golden Eagles with her first three of the afternoon as the two sides headed to the break with USD on top, 50-32.

The Coyotes lead bloomed to 27, 59-32, following a 9-0 run in the opening 2:20 of the third. ORU cut the deficit back under 20, 63-45, at the 2:53 mark courtesy of an 8-2 stretch that Ariel Walker sparked with a fast break layup. South Dakota netted four of the final seven points of the period to take a 67-48 advantage into the fourth.

A Lauren Ramey corner triple to start the fourth drew ORU within 16, 67-51, but the Coyotes quickly responded with a 14-0 run to extend their lead to 30, 81-51, with 6:27 left in the contest. After a Cooper layup stopped the run momentarily, USD outscored the Golden Eagles 20-4 the rest of the way as the Coyotes went on to win, 101-57.

THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Cooper reached double-figures for the 12th time this season after finishing with 16 points. Ariel Walker pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists, both of which led ORU.

South Dakota: Grace Larkins led five Coyotes in double-figures with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with five assists and five rebounds.
                                                                                                                                                 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Golden Eagles struggled from the field, finishing a season-low 27.8 percent from the floor.
- From behind the arc, ORU knocked down nine threes.
- The Golden Eagles forced 17 turnovers and registered a game-best nine steals.
- Makenna Winans totaled two of the team's four blocks.
- ORU finished 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
- On the glass, the Golden Eagles were outrebounded 56-26.
- Sara Rodrigues and Udoumoh contributed with eight points each.

GAME NOTES
- Wednesday's matchup marked the 23rd all-time between the two programs.
- Cooper totaled double-figures for the eighth straight game and 20th time in her ORU career.
- Walker's four assists were a season-high.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles return to the Mabee Center Thursday, December 29 for their Summit League home opener against Omaha at 7 p.m.

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.