Luper's Record Night Lifts ORU to Win

Luper's 41 points were enough to set the Summit League career scoring record which stood for nearly a decade.

Saturday, February 4th 2012, 8:31 pm

By: News On 6

Oral Roberts junior Kevi Luper set the Summit League record for total points Saturday breaking ORU alum Krista Ragan's decade-old record, lifting the Golden Eagles to a 84-75 win over North Dakota State to grab their ninth conference win of the season.

The junior from Adair, Okla. finished the contest with 41 points, including nine from behind-the-arc, to set a new record of 2,120 points, with a year of eligibility left to play for the Golden Eagles.

ORU built a big first half lead, thanks to the sharp shooting of Luper , with the Golden Eagles snapping off a 21-10 run – 12 coming from Luper – to take a 40-29 lead with 2:38 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles went into the locker room at halftime leading 44-36.

The Golden Eagles continued to pour it on in the early going of the second half, doubling up the Bison 20-10, including 11 from Luper, put ORU ahead 64-46 with just 10:38 left to play.

Oral Roberts' lead would not dip below eight point in the closing 10 minutes of the second half.

In addition to Luper's 41 points, she grabbed seven steals, dished out four assists and five rebounds, while Jaci Bingham notched 12 points, six assists and four boards in the win.

Hannah Linz set the pace for North Dakota state with 18 points, while Dani Degange and Janae Becken both turned in a double-double with 15 points, Degange grabbing 10 boards and Becken coming down with 14 in the loss.

The Golden Eagles will go for Summit League win No. 10 at 7 p.m. Tuesday against South Dakota State, trying to avenge a 60-57 loss from earlier in the week.