ORU Women Fall To North Dakota State, 64-55

NewsOn6.com and ORU

TULSA, OK -- The Oral Roberts women's basketball fell to North Dakota State, 55-64, Saturday afternoon in the Mabee Center.

The Golden Eagles fall to 13-15 overall and 6-11 in Summit League action, while the Bison improve to 14-12 on the year and 11-6 in conference play. NDSU swept ORU in both games this season, as NDSU now leads the all-time series 3-2.

Junior forward Janae Voelker led the Golden Eagles with 17 points and seven rebounds, while freshman guard Georgia Jones tallied 11 points on the day. Senior guard Mariana Camargo chipped in nine points and seven boards, as senior center Monah Pegorari added a team-high eight rebounds and junior guard Amy Pryor also scored nine points.

ORU took its first lead at 17:43 in the first half as Jones made a jumper to put the Golden Eagles up 3-2. A tip-in from Voelker at 16:09 tied up the game for the second time at 5-all. Another jumper by Jones kept it at a one-point game, 7-8, with 15:07 in the half and a three-pointer from Jones at the 13-minute mark kept it to with a one-possession game, 10-12.

The Golden Eagles then took a 5-3 run to tie everything up at 15-15 with 11:31 in the half but the Bison responded with a 15-0 run in the next six minutes of action to take a 30-15 lead with 5:43 to play.

Jones finally broke the streak with a jumper, while Voelker and Camargo rounded out the Golden Eagles scoring in the first half with two free throws, as NDSU took a 36-19 lead heading into the break.

A Camargo layup at 19:19 in the second got the ORU scoring rolling but a 5-2 NDSU run put the Bison up 41-24 with 16:32 left to play.

The Golden Eagles fought back with a 5-0 run in the next two minutes, 29-41, with 14:12 remaining. ORU cut into the lead again as a jumper from Pryor at 9:09 brought it back to under a 10-point game, 37-46, while two free throws from Pryor took it to a seven-point game, 42-49, with 4:48 remaining. Two more free throws from Pryor at the 1:21 mark put the Golden Eagles to within a six-point margin, 52-58, but the Bison made six free throws to take home the victory.

ORU shot 29.7% (19-64) from the field, including 17.4% (4-23) from three-point range and 68.4% (13-19) from the free throw line.

NDSU shot 48.9% (22-45) from the field, including 33.3% (5-15) from behind the arc and 68.2% (15-22) from behind the charity stripe.

The Golden Eagles wrap up regular-season action against No. 16/21 South Dakota State on Monday, March 2 at 7:05 p.m. in the Mabee Center. Monday night is senior night, as ORU will honor its three seniors: guards Mariana Camargo, Demesha Heard and center Monah Pegorari.