Missouri State Hands ORU First Loss Of Season

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma – A late comeback wasn't enough to close the gap as the Golden Eagles picked up their first loss of the season against Missouri State on Saturday.

The Lady Bears, who were the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference, topped the Golden Eagles 85-79 thanks to solid rebounding and shooting.

Missouri State outrebounded ORU 46-31 and shot 51 percent from the floor in the win.

The Bears took over from the opening tip, using an early 13-2 run to lead by 10 points eight minutes into the game.

MSU continued to separate itself toward the end of the first half, leading by as many as 19.

Kevi Luper showed up for Oral Roberts midway through the second half, hitting a jumper and following it with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 12.

Toward the end of the game, ORU closed the deficit even further as a 3-pointer from Georgia Jones cut the Missouri State lead to 79-73.

But the Bears hit their free throws, and even finishing the game on a 16-9 run wasn't enough to close the gap for ORU.

The Golden Eagles turned the ball over a season-high 20 times.

Jordan Pyle led Oral Roberts with 20 points. Luper added 17 points and Jones had 16.

Oral Roberts will stay in town to face Tulsa on Tuesday in the Mayor's Cup battle. Tipoff will be in the Reynolds Center at the University of Tulsa at 7 p.m.