THE BASICS
Summit League Women's Basketball Championship Semifinal
Score: Oral Roberts 60 – South Dakota State 87
Records: ORU (12-19); South Dakota State (27-5)
Location: PREMIER Center – Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Oral Roberts women's basketball team's season came to an end Monday afternoon as they fell to top-seeded South Dakota State, 87-60, in the Summit League Women's Basketball Championship Semifinals inside the PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Hannah Cooper led four Golden Eagles in double-figures on the day with 14 points to go along with five steals, four assists and four rebounds. Ariel Walker and Lauren Ramey followed Cooper with 12 points apiece, while Ruthie Udoumoh added 11. 

After SDSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead, ORU answered back with a 6-1 stretch to even the contest at the 6:16 mark. Out of the under-five media timeout, the Jackrabbits turned a 9-8 advantage into a 20-8 lead behind an 11-0 run as 1:20 remained in the opening quarter. Six of the final 10 points of the period went the way of the Golden Eagles as they headed to the second trailing 24-14.

A 14-0 run to start the second saw the Jackrabbits' lead bloom to 24, 38-14, as 3:01 remained in the half. Udoumoh stopped the bleeding with her first three-pointer of the game, snapping a 7:16 scoring drought for ORU. SDSU went on to score eight of the final 13 points as they took a 46-22 lead into the break.

After the two sides split the opening 12 points of the third, the Golden Eagles used a 6-1 stretch to trim the deficit to 53-34 at the under-five media timeout. Despite outscoring the Jackrabbits, 23-19, in the quarter, ORU headed to the fourth facing a 65-45 deficit.

In the fourth, Ramey drew ORU to within 16, 67-51, with back-to-back threes at the 8:13 mark. SDSU answered back with 10 of the next 13 points as they took a 77-54 advantage into the under-five media stoppage. The Jackrabbits later took their largest lead of the day, 85-57, behind a 7-0 run with 1:43 remaining in the contest. A Walker three rounded out the scoring on the afternoon for ORU as SDSU went on to win 87-60.

THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Cooper led the team in scoring for the third straight game as the senior finished with 14 points.

South Dakota State: Haleigh Timmer led all players with 25 points on the day after finishing 8-for-12 from the field.
                                                                                                                                                 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU struggled from the field, shooting 30.3 percent.
- From three, the Golden Eagles netted 12 of 25 attempts.
- Cooper dished out four of ORU's 10 assists. 
- The senior also racked up five of the team's 10 steals.
- On the glass, ORU was outrebounded, 48-29.
- Off the bench, Sara Rodrigues registered two blocks.

GAME NOTES
- Monday's semifinal matchup marked the 45th meeting all-time between the two programs.
- Cooper finished the season with 26 consecutive double-digit performances.
- The senior also reached double-figures in 30 of the 31 contests this year.

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.

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