FARGO, N.D. - The Oral Roberts University women's basketball team failed to score over the final 2:20 of the contest, dropping a heartbreaking 68-66 decision to North Dakota State on Saturday afternoon at Bison Sports Arena in Fargo.

The Golden Eagles fell to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in Summit League play, while the Bison improved to 8-5 on the season and 3-0 in conference action.

Hannah Linz of North Dakota State sank two free-throws to retake the lead with 52.1 seconds remaining, and Katie Birkel went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to put the Bison up by two with 10.4 ticks left. The Golden Eagles had the final possession but failed to get a shot off.

Trailing by four at halftime, ORU jumped out of the gate with an 11-0 run to take a seven-point lead in a second half that would be dominated by scoring streaks.

The Bison answered with a 13-0 run to climb back to a six-point advantage. The Golden Eagles scored six straight points to knot the game at 49 apiece with 10:05 remaining.

North Dakota State then scored nine consecutive points in the next two minutes to go up 58-49, but ORU charged back again with a 12-3 run to tie the game at 61-61 with 4:41 left to play.

After a made layup by the Bison, Jaci Bigham (McAlester, Okla.) buried a huge 3-pointer to give ORU a one-point lead with 3:12 remaining. After a jumper gave North Dakota State the lead again, Bigham converted a layup for the one-point advantage before the Bison ended the game with three free-throws in the final minute of play.

Bigham led the Golden Eagles with 20 points off 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including four 3-pointers, and a 4-of-6 effort from the charity stripe. The freshman guard posted her seventh straight game of scoring in double digits.

Kevi Luper (Adair, Okla.) tallied 13 points in her first game back from injury, while Jordan Pyle (Mustang, Okla.) chipped in 12 points.

Senior Janae Voelker (Newton, Kan.) tied a career high by pulling down 18 rebounds, while also recording eight points.

The Bison jumped out to an early 30-15 advantage in the first half, as the Golden Eagles went on a scoring drought that lasted nearly seven minutes.

Pyle snapped the scoreless skid with a 3-pointer at the 6:15 mark, and ORU rode a 19-6 run capped off by a buzzer beater by Voelker to head into the locker room trailing by only four points.

The Golden Eagles shot 37 percent (22-of-59) from the field, 40 percent (8-of-20) from 3-point range and 70 percent (14-of-20) from the free-throw line.

ORU out-rebounded the Bison by a 44-37 margin, while turning the ball over 18 times and forcing 17 North Dakota State turnovers.

The Golden Eagles return to action at South Dakota State at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night.

- ORU -