Ariel Walker/Women's Basketball | Oral Roberts University
Ariel Walker/Women's Basketball | Oral Roberts University
Four players reached double-figures as the Oral Roberts women's basketball team rolled past Denver, 88-70, to close out the 2022 calendar year Saturday afternoon inside the Mabee Center. With the victory, the Golden Eagles have now won back-to-back contests for the first time this season.
Ariel Walker led ORU in scoring for the second time this year as the senior poured in a career-high 23 points to go along with seven steals, five rebounds and two assists. The seven steals led all players and were a career-high for the Ozark, Arkansas, native.
ORU's leading scorer Hannah Cooper joined Walker in double-figures with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The 20-point performance was the senior's seventh of the season.
Forward Tirzah Moore logged her second consecutive double-double as the sophomore registered 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting and pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds. Ruthie Udoumoh rounded out the double-digit scorers for ORU as the junior finished with 18 points. The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, native also logged a career-best five steals in the win.
For the second straight contest, the Golden Eagles found themselves in an early hole as Denver jumped out to a 7-0 start in the opening 1:47. Walker broke the run with a three-pointer and sparked a 7-2 stretch for ORU as they drew within two, 9-7, with 6:07 showing on the clock. After the Pioneers pushed their lead up to five, 21-16, at the 2:31 mark, Cooper ignited a 7-2 run with a turnaround jumper and Lauren Ramey capped it off with a corner three as ORU evened the score, 23-23, after a quarter of play.
A Moore jumper :10 ticks into the second quarter gave ORU their first lead of the contest, 25-23. The Pioneers jumped back in front, 32-31, with 7:12 remaining in the half following a 5-0 run. The Golden Eagles answered with a 13-2 stretch to take their first double-digit lead, 44-34, of the afternoon. After a split at the foul line by Denver, ORU extended their run to 17-3 to take a 48-35 advantage into the break. In the period, the Golden Eagles outscored the Pioneers 25-12.
Denver dwindled the ORU lead down to single-digits, 62-54, following a 6-0 surge with 3:00 left in the third. Udoumoh put an end to the stretch with a pair of makes at the charity stripe and sparked a 12-0 run to close out the third as ORU held a 74-54 advantage. During the stretch, Udoumoh registered six of the Golden Eagle's 12 points.
An 8-2 start to the fourth by ORU gave them its largest lead of the contest, 82-56, forcing a Pioneer timeout at the 7:42 mark. Despite being outscored 14-6 over the final 7:42, the Golden Eagles cruised past Denver, 88-70.
THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Walker led four Golden Eagles in double-figures on the afternoon with a career-high 23 points to go along with a career-best and game-high seven steals. Moore pulled down double-digit rebounds for the fifth straight game as the junior finished with a team-leading 10.
Denver: Makayla Minett notched a double-double for the Pioneers as she finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU scorched the nets as they shot a season-high 55.2 percent from the field, while holding Denver to 37.1 percent.
- From the charity stripe, the Golden Eagles were 20-of-21 and made their final 10 foul shots.
- The 20 made free throws were a season-high for ORU.
- Cooper (8-for-8), Udoumoh (6-for-6) and Walker (4-for-4) were all perfect from the foul line in the win.
- ORU totaled a season-best 16 steals, led by Walker's career-high seven.
- On the afternoon, the Golden Eagles scored 28 points off of 25 Pioneer turnovers.
- ORU outscored Denver 20-2 in fastbreak points.
- The Golden Eagles dished out 15 assists on the afternoon, led by Cooper's game-high six.
- ORU scored 50 of their 88 points in the paint.
- The Golden Eagles registered 25 bench points compared to six for Denver.
- ORU was outrebounded, 41-28, in the contest.
GAME NOTES
- Saturday's contest marked the 18th meeting all-time between the two programs.
- With the win, ORU is now 11-7 all-time against the Pioneers and has won three of the last four in the series.
- Inside the Mabee Center, the Golden Eagles are now 6-2 all-time against Denver.
- ORU had four players reach double-figures for the second straight game and fourth time this season.
- In their last two contests, the Golden Eagles have gone 37-of-39 from the charity stripe.
- Cooper totaled 20 points for the seventh time this season in the win.
- After finishing 8-for-8 from the foul line, Cooper has now made 32 consecutive free throws.
- Walker surpassed 20-plus points for the second time this season and in her career in the victory.
- Moore's double-double was the sophomore's seventh of the season and 10th of her career.
- ORU has now registered 80-plus points in six contests this season, marking its most through 15 games since the 2010-11 season.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles hit the road to face Summit League foe Kansas City Saturday, January 7 at 2 p.m.
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