SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Oral Roberts fell to Missouri State in the opening round of the WNIT on Friday night by a score of 75-53 at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo. The Golden Eagles ended the 2009-10 season with a 23-10 overall record.
ORU scored a season-low 53 points, while turning the ball over 30 times in the loss.
Jaci Bigham scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds, while Kevi Luper also posted 13 points with six steals and five boards. Janae Voelker (Newton, Kan.) ended her ORU career with 10 points, seven boards and four blocks.
Missouri State (21-10) outscored the Golden Eagles 41-19 over the final 10:27 to cruise to the victory.
Both teams struggled through the first half, as the Golden Eagles trailed by four points at the break with a season-low 18 points and went scoreless for the remaining 7:24. ORU committed 17 turnovers, while the Lady Bears gave the ball away 13 times.
The Golden Eagles shot 23 percent (6-of-26) in the opening half, while Missouri State shot 17 percent (7-of-41) from the field and eight percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range.
The Lady Bears bounced back in the second half, shooting 47 percent from the field to improve to 30 percent (22-of-73) for the game.
Casey Garrison led Missouri State down the stretch, scoring 19 of her game-high 26 points in the second half. Garrison went 9-of-20 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
ORU opened the game with an 8-2 lead before the Lady Bears went on a 9-0 run to take their first lead. Bigham knocked down her third trey of the contest at the 15:20 mark to end the run, which set the all-time Summit League single-season mark with 99 3-pointers.
Story courtesy of ORU media relations.
