HOUSTON – Oral Roberts jumped out to a big early lead, then turned HBU back when the Huskies began to chip away for a 75-65 victory in non-conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
Sophomore guard
Bria Johnson led the Huskies (1-4) with 12 points, while sophomore guard
Lisa Zderadicka and freshman guard
Sophie Taylor scored 11 apiece. Freshman forward
Taylor Kollmorgen had nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks off the bench and senior guard
Heidi Byrd scored eight.
Faith Ihim and Montserrat Brotons each scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Golden Eagles (2-3), with Jordan Gilbert chipping in with 13 and Hillary Hurst with nine. Maria Martianez led ORU with seven boards to go along with seven points and a pair of blocks.
ORU shot 49.2 percent from the field, 37.5 percent (3-for-8) from 3-point range and 14-for-21 from the free throw line, while HBU shot 40.0 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent (8-for-20) from behind the arc, while going 17-for-20 from the stripe. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Huskies, 34-28, and forced 20 HBU turnovers by coming up with 15 steals.
The Golden Eagles scored the first 19 points of the game, with Ihim scoring six of her eight first-quarter points during the run. Byrd ended the Huskies' drought with a three at the 4:43 mark of the first, then a trey by Zderadicka cut the deficit to 14, but Lakota Beatty answered. Kollmorgen's jumper with five second on the clock made the score 26-11 at the end of one.
Redshirt freshman forward
Charlotte Hodges opened the second quarter with a three to cut ORU's lead to 12, but the Golden Eagles outscored the Huskies, 13-5, to take a 20-point lead at 39-19 with 3:08 remaining in the half, which would be their largest of the game. Trailing 44-27, Johnson made four-straight free throws for HBU, before a 1-of-2 free throws by Brotons put ORU ahead, 45-31 at the break.
The second half was scoreless for 2:17, until sophomore center
Kennedy Collins made 1-of-2 from the line, then her three-pointer nearly a minute later put the Huskies within 12 once again. Two more free throws by Johnson, then a pair by Zderadicka made it a 10-point game, 53-43, with just over two minutes remaining in the third. ORU went back up by 15, but Taylor nailed a three from the corner to beat the buzzer and trim the Golden Eagles' lead to 58-46 heading to the final period.
Byrd buried a three on HBU's first possession to get the Huskies back within single digits, but Hurst answered with a three for the Golden Eagles. ORU led by 13 with 3:42 left in the game, but freshman forward
Lauren Calver slipped inside for a layup, then Kollmorgen sank a pair of free throws to make the score, 68-59, with three minutes to go. HBU could get no closer than nine and Kollmorgen's jumper with five seconds left provided the final margin.
The Huskies hit the road to face UTEP Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. CST, before returning home for another three-game homestand, beginning with Texas Southern Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
