TULSA, Okla. - Western Illinois women's basketball (10-14, 6-7) had momentum heading into a Saturday afternoon contest at Oral Roberts (16-9, 10-4) but ORU's all-everything guard, Kevi Luper, scored 31 points as the Golden Eagles won 84-69, to snap Western's three-game winning streak.
Western Illinois shot 34.5 percent and hit 10 three-pointers but a 50 percent shooting night from ORU including 24 assists and half of its points (42) coming from inside the paint was too much for the visitors to overcome. The Leathernecks did outrebound the Golden Eagles 45-44.
Jackie Rieger knocked down one of two free throws at the 16:32 mark to give the Leathernecks an early 5-4 lead after trailing 4-0 to open the game.
Sadie Webb found room on the baseline to drill a mid-range jumper to extend Western's lead to 13-9 with 11:17 left before halftime. The Golden Eagles would answer with two quick baskets to overtake the Leathernecks, 15-13, at the 10-minute mark.
Valencia Kelly was strong early for the Purple & Gold and gave Western an 18-17 lead with a jumper with 6:03 on the clock.
Saule Kontautaite scored eight straight points including back-to-back triples to give Western a 26-21 lead with just over four minutes left in the first half.
Oral Roberts ended the first half on a 15-2 run and went into the break with a 36-28 lead. Kontautaite led Western with 11 points, including three three-pointers. Both Dominique Allen and Bernadett Balla paced ORU with eight points as the Golden Eagles used 11 assists on 16 field goals to supplement its offense.
Western opened the second half with deep balls from Webb and Kontautaite to cut the deficit to 38-34 with 18:42 on the clock.Â
As ORU was pulling away Webb hit another triple to keep Western close, 47-39, at the 14:46 mark. However, the Golden Eagles had all the momentum and led 51-39 with just under 13 minutes left in regulation.
Western could not keep the deficit under 10 points and Oral Roberts held onto 59-49 lead with 9:22 left in the contest. Luper's jumper with 8:28 on the clock stretched the home lead to 63-49.
With just over five minutes to play, ORU led 70-56 after a Webb jumper. The Golden Eagles impressive second half continued as Luper drilled a three-pointer at the three and half minute mark to give ORU a 77-59 advantage.
Oral Roberts would cruise to the 84-69 Summit League victory and collect its 10th league victory.
Webb led the way for the Purple & Gold with 19 points while Kontautaite finished with 16 and a career-high seven rebounds. Luper led all scorers with 31 points while Balla (16) and Allen (10) both finished in double-digits. Jaci Bingham dished out 10 assists in the victory.
The Leathernecks will conclude the road trip with an 8 p.m. (CT) clash at Southern Utah on Monday night in Cedar City, Utah. The Thunderbirds fell earlier this season inside Western Hall, 82-70.
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