No. 2 North Dakota State held on after a dominant first half to defeat No. 3 Oral Roberts 75-66 in the semifinal round of the 2024 Summit League Women’s Basketball Championships.
NDSU outscored ORU 22-12 in the first quarter. The last time ORU was held to 12 or less in the opening frame was during the Big Sky/Summit Challenge against Sacramento State (nine points). Abbie Draper (6), Heaven Hamling (5), Abby Schulte (5), Miriley Simon (2), Avery Koenen (2), and Abby Krzewinski (2) all contributed to first-quarter scoring for the Bison.
ORU proceeded to stay paced with NDSU in the second, tying their scoring with 16. Taleyah Jones and Ruthie Udoumoh led the Golden Eagles’ charge, combining for 15 points in the frame. The halftime lead was 38-28 in favor of NDSU.
Out of the half, Draper stretched the NDSU lead to 12, but Ruthie Udoumoh nailed a bucket to cut it back to 10. Hannah Cooper followed with a short jumper to make the lead eight points, but the next possession resulted in a turnover, giving momentum back to NDSU. ORU cut the lead to six, but the Bison stretched it back to 11.
At the five-minute mark in the fourth, Ruthie Udoumoh banked a bucket to give ORU some momentum, but NDSU got the basket and one on the other end to make it a 13-point game, 64-51.
With two minutes left, it was back to a nine-point game. NDSU traveled to give ORU the ball, and Cooper capitalized, bringing ORU within seven. Never getting closer than six points, the Bison were ultimately too much for the Golden Eagles to handle.
Coach Jory Collins praised his team’s efforts.
“I was really proud of our team.. we knew it was going to be really difficult… we managed to make enough good plays out of it. The moment wasn’t too big, and I thought we handled some situations.”
He also shared his thoughts on getting to the title game.
“It’s been a long time coming… this has been a process since we got here of trying to build a culture, a championship level culture.”
Heaven Hamling was also feeling accomplished after the game.
“I think we just created history if I’m not wrong, and that’s what I came here to do… I’m just glad that we got the opportunity to go out tomorrow and give it our best shot.”
Abbie Draper talked about the team mentality with key players in foul trouble.
“We had some of our bench players be able to step up and just be a role player out there.”
NDSU was led by 18 points apiece from Draper and Hamling, with Hamling adding 11 rebounds for a double-double. Avery Koenen tacked on a double-double of her own with 10 points and 10 boards off the bench.
For ORU, Coach Kelsi Musick had high praise for the intensity of her team.
“They play extremely hard. Hannah chose to stay here when I first took this job and she really did buy into this program. Ruthie chose to commit to us when she was in the portal… I am just blessed at the opportunity to coach them… we’ve made strides quickly in a short two years.
Hannah Cooper commented on her time at ORU.
“My first year obviously wasn’t the best, you know, but I think with Coach coming in.. I really can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me, on and off the floor.”
Coach Musick also mentioned Makyra Tramble and her experience.
“I know her leadership, and the fact that she knows how to win. She’s just still coming off that injury and we’ve gotta get her back in the flow… she can really score and handle the ball, she’s one of our better passers.
ORU finished the season 11-5 in the conference, and 21-10 overall.
No. 2 North Dakota State will face border-rival and No. 1 South Dakota State in the Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship final at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12th. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.