Poor Shooting Costs Oral Roberts Against South Dakota State

Foul trouble and poor shooting sent the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles to their fourth conference loss of the season Monday, falling to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 70-51.

The Golden Eagles were abysmal in the first half, hitting just nine of their 34 field goal attempts, while the Jackrabbits converted on 12 of their 23 shots. However, ORU's deficit wasn't as grave as it should have been thanks to 12 points from the behind-the-arc, heading into halftime trailing 29-26.

In the second half, Oral Roberts performance from the floor increased statistically, but only because they took fewer shots, hitting 10 of their 25 attempts. South Dakota State also took advantage of their free throw advantage, hitting on 10 of their 15 shots from the charity stripe, compared to just three second half free throw attempts for the Golden Eagles.

Jaci Bingham finished with a game-high 23 points and five steals, but was the only ORU player to score in double-figures. A game after setting the Summit League career record for scoring, Kevi Luper was just 4-of-18 from the floor, scoring nine points in the loss.

Jill Young turned in a double-double for the Jackrabbits, scoring 19 points, hitting six three-pointers – and grabbing 10 boards, while Jennie Sunnarborg scored 10 of her 18 points from the free throw line.

The Golden Eagles will return home from back-to-back road games for a 2:05 p.m. matchup Saturday against Western Illinois.