South Dakota Snaps ORU's Winning Streaks

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma – Sometimes mounting a furious comeback simply leaves a team with no fuel left in the tank.

ORU rallied from 14 down on Monday against South Dakota but faltered in the home stretch of a 60-57 loss to the Coyotes.

South Dakota took a double-digit lead into halftime thanks to 19 first half points from post player Amber Hegge.

The Coyotes increased their lead to 14 about five minutes into the second, but Kevi Luper initiated a Golden Eagles comeback.

Luper scored seven straight points to cut into the lead and ORU eventually got the deficit back to six with 13:09 to play.

Just over five minutes later, Jordan Pyle drained a 3-pointer to cap a 16-3 run, tying the game at 54.

But it appeared the comeback took everything out of the Golden Eagles as the tie essentially marked the end of their scoring for the night.

ORU missed its next 11 shots after that and didn't score again until a 3 from Georgia Jones with less than a minute remaining. It was Oral Roberts' only field goal in the game's final 7:43.

The loss snapped a couple of losing streaks for the Golden Eagles.

ORU had won four straight games overall heading into Monday's matchup, and had won 21 straight home conference games, the third-longest streak in conference history.

Luper led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 21 points, while Jordan Pyle had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Hegge of USD led all scorers with 24.

The Golden Eagles fell to 14-8 overall and 8-3 in conference play, while South Dakota moved to 14-6 (6-5).

Oral Roberts will have a few days off before traveling to Fargo, N.D. for a Saturday game against North Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.