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Western Illinois University Athletics

Jinda Guidinger
Larry Dean
64
Western Illinois WIU 5-11 (1-2)
68
Winner Oral Roberts ORU 9-7 (2-1)
Western Illinois WIU
5-11 (1-2)
64
Final
68
Oral Roberts ORU
9-7 (2-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Illinois WIU 16 14 20 14 64
Oral Roberts ORU 20 15 15 18 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Leathernecks Unable to Complete Comeback at Oral Roberts

The Leathernecks held a one-point lead in the final 30 seconds of Friday’s road contest.

TULSA, Okla. - Turnovers and offensive rebounds proved to be the difference in the Mabee Center Friday (Jan. 5) afternoon, and Oral Roberts held the advantage in both in a 68-64 win over the Western Illinois University women's basketball team. 

The Golden Eagles outboarded Western, 45-37, in the game, assisted by 23 offensive rebounds, and scored 14 second-chance points and 19 off of turnovers. 

Despite the miscues, Western didn't trail by more than 10 points until the third quarter, in a game that sat in its favor with 30 seconds remaining. 

"Usually when you improve it's three steps forward and one step back, and after the Eastern Illinois game we've moved about 10 steps forward. This was a step back, but, it's not like we played terribly," said head coach JD Gravina. "We gave ourselves a chance to win on the road, and if [their 3-pointer] didn't go in, we're having a completely different conversation about how we toughed it out and battled through. That's kind of the way sports go." 

It was a wild finish down the stretch, as the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 50-all. Jinda Guidinger was the first player to convert a field goal when she hit a jump shot at the 8:28 mark and the basket ignited Western on a 6-0 run. There were three lead changes before the final buzzer, with Taylor Higginbotham embarking on a 6-0 run of her own to pad her team to a 64-63 edge with 29 seconds left. 

Higginbotham's corner 3-ball marked Western's final field goal of the game as ORU responded with a trey of its own on the following possession before a WIU turnover spiraled into a fastbreak layup to conclude the game. 

Olivia Kaufmann kicked off the Leathernecks' road contest with a jump shot, and the score swung within two possessions the entire first half. ORU notched a 23-16 lead in the early goings of the second quarter, its largest lead of the half, but a 7-0 run evened things at 23-all with 6:40 remaining on the clock.  

At the break, ORU held onto a 35-30 lead. Twenty of ORU's first-half points were the direct result of an offensive board or a forced turnover. 

Higginbotham paced Western's scoring and rebounding efforts with her fourth double-double of the season on 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Kauffman finished one board shy of a double-double of her own. She finished the afternoon with 14 points and was followed by Annabel Graettinger's 12.

Coming off the bench, Guidinger recorded 10 points with seven rebounds. 

Western (5-11, 1-2 Summit League) returns to action with road games at North Dakota State (Jan. 11) and North Dakota (Jan. 13). 
 
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