The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 80 – South Dakota State 96
Record: ORU (15-6), (6-2) – SDSU (15-5), (7-0)
Location: Frost Arena (Brookings, South Dakota)

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Oral Roberts women's basketball team fell to South Dakota State, 96-80, Sunday afternoon inside Frost Arena.

Jalei Oglesby and Hannah Cooper led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 23 and 19 point outings. Oglesby was hot all afternoon from the midrange shooting 11-of-17 from the floor. Cooper shot 7-of-11 from the field and tallied six assists in the contest.

Both teams opened the game in a competitive, back-and-forth manner. Ruthie Udoumoh put ORU on the board first with a jumper in the paint. The scoring remained even for the ensuing couple of minutes as SDSU led 11-10 at the media timeout. The Jackrabbits went on a 6-0 run out of the break before the Golden Eagles responded with their own 7-0 run over the final 2:28 of the quarter. The score was knotted 17-17 after the first 10 minutes.

After a pair of Udoumoh free throws and layups by Oglesby and Cooper, ORU found themselves up five with their biggest lead of the game. SDSU responded to the quick Golden Eagle run by scoring on three straight possessions. The score was tied 29-29 at the media timeout. Out of the break, Taleyah Jones stripped the ball from the Jackrabbits and passed it up ahead to Emily Robinson for the score. The back-and-forth nature of scoring in this game continued as the score was an even 37-37 at half.

SDSU began to pull away in the third quarter outscoring the Golden Eagles 33-21 in the period. The Jackrabbits strung together a 12-0 run from the 8:57 to 6:47 minute mark. ORU attempted to cut back into the lead, but Meyer and SDSU had an answer to every Golden Eagle burst. The Jackrabbits held a 70-58 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The final 10 minutes held in store more of the same for ORU as the Golden Eagles had trouble guarding the SDSU offense. The Jackrabbits stretched their lead to 85-66 at the media timeout. ORU outscored SDSU 12-6 over the final three minutes of play, but the Jackrabbits came away with the 96-88 win.

The Leaders
 
Oral Roberts: Oglesby led the Golden Eagles with 23 points for her fourth 20 point outing this season. Oglesby and Udoumoh each grabbed four rebounds and Cooper dished out a team-high six assists.
 
South Dakota State: Brooklyn Meyer put up a game-high 27 points while Paige Meyer recorded 11 assists.

Inside the Box Score

• ORU sits in third place in the Summit League standings with a 6-2 conference record.
• Four Golden Eagles reached double-digit scoring as Oglesby led the way with 23. Cooper (19), Jones (15), and Udoumoh (10) rounded out the players in double-digits.
• ORU's bench outscored SDSU's bench 30-28.
• The Golden Eagles forced 22 Jackrabbit turnovers while registering 13 steals.
• ORU scored 27 points off of South Dakota State turnovers.
• ORU was outrebounded the Jackrabbits 45-18.
• Cooper led the team in assists for the 17th time this year.
• The Golden Eagles struggled from the three point line shooting 3-of-16 from long distance.
• Cooper played all 40 minutes tonight against the Jackrabbits.

Up Next
 
The Golden Eagles resume action next week as they travel to Denver to take on the Pioneers on Saturday, February 3rd at 1 p.m.
 
For the latest information on ORU women's basketball, follow @ORUWBB on X 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.
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