THE BASICS
Score: Oral Roberts 55 – Tarleton State 59
Records: ORU (4-6, 0-0); TSU (6-3, 0-0)
Location: Wisdom Gym – Stephenville, Texas
  
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – In a highly competitive Monday night matchup, the Oral Roberts women's basketball team came up just short against Tarleton State, falling 59-55 on the road. After falling behind by double digits in the second quarter, the Golden Eagles clawed their way back and trailed by just one with 63 seconds left to play.
 
The two teams remained virtually deadlocked after one quarter with the Texans holding just a one point advantage. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 7-2 lead off of baskets from Ariel Walker, Katie Scott, and Tirzah Moore. With a swift response, the Texans rattled off a 7-0 run of their own over just 63 seconds. A three ball from Delaney Nix brought the Golden Eagles within one with 1:16 left to go in the quarter.
 
Tirzah Moore got ORU going in the second quarter, scoring the team's first three points. Over an exactly five minute stretch, Tarleton went on a 10-2 run to take the momentum into the break. A late three-pointer from Hannah Cooper cut the Texan lead to single digits.
 
Scott finished a lay-up through contact and converted the free throw to finish the three-point play and bring ORU within four. Two possessions later, Faith Paramore connected on a wide open layup after a beautiful entry feed from Nix.
 
In the final ten minutes of action, drama ran high as the Golden Eagles battled until the final whistle. With 2:56 to play, a technical foul was issued to the Tarleton State head coach. Keni Jo Lippe split the free throws to bring the Golden Eagles back within four. With 1:23 to play, Tirzah Moore brought the game within one after a layup. On the following possession, the Texans nailed a triple to push their lead back to four. A deep jumper from Scott brought ORU within a pair with 41 ticks left but the Golden Eagles were unable to draw any closer, ultimately falling by four.  

THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Tirzah Moore led the Golden Eagles with 13 points and three assists. Katie Scott also matched Moore's team-high with three assists while Hannah Cooper had a team-high seven rebounds.
Tarleton State: The Texans were led by Malaya Kendrick who had a game-high 14 points. Seynabou Thiam pulled down 10 rebounds and swatted five shots for Tarleton in the win.
                                                                                                                                                  
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU falls to 0-4 on the road for the season.
- The Golden Eagles forced 21 turnovers on Monday night. Hannah Cooper led all players with four steals in the contest.
- ORU struggled from the floor, shooting just 29.1% and 23.5% from long range.
- At the free throw line, ORU converted on 19 of 26 attempts, good for 73.1%.
- Tarleton State outscored ORU 32-18 in the paint.
- Cooper's seven rebound mark an ORU career-high.
- Tirzah Moore's four offensive rebounds match her career-high.
 
Up Next
The Golden Eagles continue their Texas trip with a Wednesday matchup at Abilene Christian. The game can be streamed via ESPN+. Tip-off from Abilene is scheduled for 5:30 PM.
 
For the latest information on ORU women's basketball, follow @ORUWBB on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.  Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the new ORU Athletics app in the Google Play or App stores.