ORU Women's Basketball Falls To NDSU In Summit League Return

The Oral Roberts women's basketball team made its official return to the Summit League Friday in Fargo to take on North Dakota State in the Scheels Arena. North Dakota State's offense proved to be too much for ORU, as the Golden Eagles fell 77-64. ORU dropped to 7-7, while NDSU moved up to 5-8.

By the 14:15 mark, the first half was tied 10-10. North Dakota State managed to take its lead back shortly after. With just under 12 minutes Jordan Doyle stepped up on offense, contributing seven of ORU's 14 points (with the game now tied 14-14).

With 7:44 left before the half, the Golden Eagles were shooting 41 percent from the field (7-17), while the Bison were shooting 40 percent from the field (8-20).

In the final six minutes NDSU went on a 10-1 run, advancing its lead over the Golden Eagles. With four minutes on the clock, Vicky McIntyre got her 64th block of the season, as ORU attempted a comeback. At the 3:30 mark, the game had six lead changes and four ties. (NDSU led 29-34). ORU allowed the Bison to gain its largest lead of the game in the final minute, as NDSU went on to lead 38-28 going into halftime. Doyle led all scorers with 11 points.

Halftime Stats

ORU

FG: 40 percent

Three-point: 50 percent (2-4)

FT: 67 percent (4-6)

TO: 6

Points Off TOs: 3

Rebounds: 16

Pts in the Paint: 12

Blocks: 1

Steals: 0

Assists: 2

NDSU

FG: 50 percent

Three-point: 20 percent (2-10)

FT: 100 percent (4-4)

TO: 2

Points Off TOs: 6

Rebounds: 17

Pts in the Paint: 12

Blocks: 1

Steals: 4

Assists: 8

ORU's slow offense caused it to sink further behind in the second half, trailing 51-38 at the 14:20 mark. Doyle (15 points), Atoe' Jackson (seven points), and Faith Ihim (seven points) were sinking shots for the Golden Eagles, but didn't have much help from the rest of their team. The trio continued to put up numbers for ORU, but couldn't shake NDSU's double-digit lead (67-56 with 6:20 left in the game). By the buzzer, ORU came up short 77-64.

Final Stats

ORU

FG: 41 percent

Three-point: 40 percent (2-5)

FT: 63 percent (12-19)

TO: 11

Points Off TOs: 7

Rebounds: 39

Pts in the Paint: 30

Blocks: 2

Steals: 2

Assists: 7

NDSU

FG: 48 percent

Three-point: 36 percent (8-22)

FT: 70 percent (7-10)

TO: 5

Points Off TOs: 10

Rebounds: 34

Pts in the Paint: 24

Blocks: 1

Steals: 4

Assists: 19

Up next, ORU travels to Colorado to play Denver Sunday, January 4, at 5:00 p.m.