THE BASICS
Score: Oral Roberts 68 – North Dakota State 64
Records: ORU (14-12, 8-6); NDSU (10-15, 6-10)
Location: Mabee Center – Tulsa, Okla.

TULSA, Okla. – Keni Jo Lippe found a cutting Delaney Nix with :18 ticks left on the clock to put Oral Roberts up for good Thursday evening as the Golden Eagles held off Summit League foe North Dakota State, 68-64, inside the Mabee Center. 

Tirzah Moore led ORU with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jo Lippe added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. Nix followed with nine points for the Golden Eagles.

It was a slow start offensively for both sides as the score was level at 5-5 at the media timeout with 3:40 remaining. Following a North Dakota State basket out of the stoppage, the Golden Eagles closed the quarter on an 11-1 run to take a 16-8 advantage into the second period. A corner three-pointer from Jo Lippe sparked the surge for ORU, which featured three triples. Six different Golden Eagles scored in the opening period.

After a Ryan Cobbins jumper drew the Bison within five, 19-14, the Golden Eagles used a 7-1 run to take their largest lead of the game, 26-15, at the 5:24 mark. North Dakota State responded with an 8-2 stretch to trim the ORU lead back to five, 28-23, with 2:57 remaining before half. Nix put an end to the Bison surge with her second three of the night as the Golden Eagles took a 32-25 lead into the break.

Carrying over from the third quarter, both sides found themselves in scoring drought of over four minutes each to start the third before Ariel Walker knocked down a three from the left wing to put ORU up 10, 35-25, at the 7:28 mark.  An 8-2 run by the Bison to close out the third period cut the ORU lead to two, 45-43.

A 5-0 spurt by North Dakota State gave them their first lead, 51-49, since the 4:16 mark of the first quarter as 8:14 remained in the contest. The next 2:47 featured three ties and one lead change before a jumper by Katie Scott put ORU up three, 59-56, with 5:03 left in the contest. North Dakota State answered with five straight points to reclaim the lead, 61-59, courtesy of a Heaven Hamling three with 4:12 showing on the clock. 

A pair of free throws by Hannah Cooper leveled the score at 64-64 with 1:12 remaining in the contest. Following a Bison turnover, Jo Lippe found a cutting Nix for an easy layup to put ORU back in front for good, 66-64, with :18 ticks left in the game. On the ensuing North Dakota State possession, Nix came up with a steal and Cooper knocked down both foul shots as ORU went on to win 68-64.
 
THE LEADERS
Oral Roberts: Moore led the Golden Eagles in scoring for the third straight game, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jo Lippe was the only other ORU player in double figures after registering 11 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds.

North Dakota State:  Hamling led all players with 24 points and pulled down six rebounds for the Bison. Emily Dietz and Hopkins joined Reneya Hamling in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
                                                                                                                                                  
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ORU held the Bison under 40 percent shooting for the game, while making 44.2 percent of their own attempts.
- The Golden Eagles won the battle on the boards, 36-34.
- Thursday's contest marked the ninth time this season that Moore has logged at least 15 points and five rebounds.
- Jo Lippe's five dimes led all players and were a season-high for the senior.
- Regan Schumacher and Cooper chipped in with eight points apiece, while Nix recorded nine.
- ORU's bench poured in 21 points on the night.

 
Up Next
The Golden Eagles close out their 2021-22 home slate Saturday afternoon as they host conference foe North Dakota inside the Mabee Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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.