THE BASICS
Score: No. 4 Oral Roberts 61 – No. 5 North Dakota 54
Records: ORU (16-14) (10-8); UND (15-15) (9-9)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – Sioux Falls, South Dakota
 
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Oral Roberts women's basketball team moves on to the Summit League Semifinal round after a 61-54 victory against North Dakota Sunday afternoon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
Keni Jo Lippe recorded a season high 22 points in Sunday's game. Lippe went 4-for-5 from the three-point and led all scorers in 32 minutes of play. Katie Scott finished the day with 11 points going 5-for-12 from the field.  
 
A solid start by the Golden Eagles saw the team with a seven point lead early in the first quarter. Trinity Moore made back-to-back buckets to give ORU the seven point advantage. North Dakota made their next two buckets to make it a 13-10 game after the first 10 minutes. The second saw four lead changes and the teams tying the game twice. Lippe saw the majority of her points come in the second with 12 by going 4-for-9. After a shot was waved off at the buzzer, ORU went into the locker room up, 26-22.
 
The Golden Eagles got up by eight just under the seven minute mark in the third. North Dakota went on a 9-0 run to take a one point lead with three minutes left. UND out-scored ORU, 15-11, in the third and ended the quarter tied, 37-37. Despite 12 lead changes in the second half, the Fighting Hawks never led by more than two points. Their largest lead of the game came with 9:02 left to go up, 39-37. After trailing by one with six minutes left in the fourth, ORU went on an 8-0 run to lead by seven with 4:30 to go. Down the stretch, Hannah Cooper hit key free-throws to lift her team going 6-for-8 in the final 1:15. After a free-throw by Tirzah Moore, the Golden Eagles the game with a 61-54 win to advance.
 
The defensive game plan for the Golden Eagles kept All-Summit League First Teamer Kacie Borowicz to just 13 points on the day and forced 16 UND turnovers. The Fighting Hawks had three score in double-figures and out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 54-37.  
 
THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Keni Jo Lippe had a season high 22 points and Tirzah Moore had seven rebounds.
North Dakota: Kacie Borowicz and Melissa Leet each had 13 points and Olivia Lane grabbed 12 boards.
                                                                                                                                                  
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU shot 32.2 percent overall in tonight's game.
- ORU was out-rebounded by UND, 54-37.
- The Golden Eagles had a 31.3 percent three-point average.
- ORU turned the ball over nine times, but forced the Fighting Hawks to turn the ball over 16 times.
- Katie Scott scored 11 points with two rebounds and two assists.
- Keni Jo Lippe captured 22 points, six rebounds and three steals.
- ORU had eight bench points in tonight's game.
- Golden Eagles capitalized with eight points off of turnovers and 26 points in the paint.
 
Up Next
ORU will play in the semifinal round against No. 1 South Dakota State Monday, March 7 at 12:30 p.m. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
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 ORU Athletics App in the Google Play or App Store.