We got exactly what we thought we’d get with the 4/5 matchup. Hannah Cooper started things off for ORU with a quick basket. Both teams were getting looks, but what would be the tale of the first half, the shots were not falling. At the under-5 media timeout, ORU led 9-6. A 3 minute scoring drought for UND ended with a beautiful reverse layup by Olivia Lane. ORU had a drought of their own to end the quarter, but they maintained a lead of 13-10 over the Fighting Hawks. UND went 4-17 from the field in the 1st quarter; ORU 6-17.
UND tied the game after an explosive take to the hoop by Jolene Daninger led to an and-1 opportunity. Katie Scott ended the ongoing ORU scoring drought of over 3.5 minutes and ORU re-gained the lead 15-13. Daninger answered quickly with a 3-point shot to give UND the lead back 16-15. There were a couple of scoring droughts by both teams in the second quarter; again, both teams were getting good looks, the shots weren’t falling. Keni Jo Lippe hit a pair of FTs for ORU to end the half and give the Golden Eagles a 26-22 heading into halftime. Lippe led all scorers with 12 points in the first half. One of the top scorers in the league, Kacie Borowicz was held to a single point and went 0-4 from the field.
UND used a 9-0 run to take the lead 33-32 over ORU. A 5 minute scoring drought by ORU ended when Ariel Walker drilled a 3-point shot. On the next possession, Leet answered quickly with a bucket and the game was tied 37-37. UND had a great third quarter, shooting 46% from the field.
In the fourth quarter, we saw Kacie Borowicz start to knock down shots, but it was Jeni Jo Lippe’s three pointer that put ORU ahead 52-45 and they never looked back. Lippe scored a season-high 22 points and Tirzah Moore had a season-high 6 blocks.
Oral Roberts will now take on SDSU Monday at 12:30pm. SDSU defeated ORU 71-51 and 84-48 this season.
UND finishes their great season 15-15. Congratulations to Coach Bernhard and her entire staff and team.