The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 72 – St. Thomas 73
Record: ORU (12-5), (3-1) – St. Thomas (11-7), (3-1)
Location: Schoemaker Arena (St. Paul, Minnesota)

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Oral Roberts women's basketball team fell to St. Thomas, 73-72, in St. Paul after the Tommies hit a three pointer for the win with .1 seconds remaining.

The Golden Eagles sit tied for third place in the Summit League with a 3-1 record in conference play.

After freshman Emily Robinson scored a putback layup to put the Golden Eagles up two with 3.3 seconds remaining, St. Thomas executed a side out of bounds play freeing Jade Hill open as she knocked down the game-winning three for the Tommies.

Hannah Cooper scored 20 points for the second time this season. Cooper shot an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The fifth year senior made big shots late in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles battled the Tommies down to the last second.

Emily Robinson, Taleyah Jones, and Meghan Weinrich all reached double-digit scoring in the contest. Robinson scored 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Jones, fresh off a 37 point performance versus South Dakota, added 13 points as she battled foul trouble all afternoon. Weinrich rounded out the double-figure scorers with a 10 points performance, her third of the year.

The Golden Eagles and Tommies opened the first quarter scoring back-and-forth baskets. St. Thomas held an 11-6 lead with 5:59 to go before Cooper and Robinson scored back-to-back baskets to make it 11-10 at the first media timeout. ORU claimed the lead out of the timeout after another fastbreak layup by Robinson. The Golden Eagles went up by as many as four points before the Tommies closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead 18-16 after the first quarter.

Jalei Oglesby highlighted the second quarter as she scored all six of her points in the second period of play. The Tommies maintained their marginal lead for the first three minutes before a layup by Ruthie Udoumoh put ORU ahead by one. St. Thomas responded with a three by Frentzel to put them back up two. Both teams traded baskets over the final minutes as they went into halftime tied 34-34.

The Golden Eagles came out of the break aggressive on both ends of the floor. ORU never trailed in the third quarter leading by as many as four. Jones found her way to the basket as she scored eight of her 13 points in the third. The Golden Eagles went into the final 10 minutes up 50-49 after gaining momentum in the third.

ORU continued its run early in the fourth quarter stretching the lead out to seven at the media timeout. St. Thomas responded with back-to-back buckets to come back within one possession before a turnaround jumper by Cooper. ORU led by eight with 2:52 remaining before Jade Hill caught fire. Hill scored nine points in the final 59 seconds. Hill knocked down a three and converted on a three-point play on back-to-back possessions. St. Thomas found themselves with the ball in a side out of bounds play with 3.3 seconds remaining. After inbounding the ball, Hill received the ball back and hit a three for the 73-72 win.

The Leaders
 
Oral Roberts: Cooper reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season and led this way with three assists. Udoumoh pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
St. Thomas: Jade Hill scored a game-high 24 points, Amber Scalia recorded six assists, and Jo Langbehn grabbed eight boards for the Tommies.

Inside the Box Score

• Four starters scored 10 or more points today led by Cooper's 20. Robinson (15), Jones (13), and Weinrich (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers for ORU.
• The Golden Eagles controlled the boards outrebounding St. Thomas 43-39 on the afternoon.
• ORU struggled from beyond the arc shooting a season-low 8.3% from three.
• The Golden Eagles battled foul trouble all game as three starters picked up four fouls.
• ORU recorded six assists on 29 made field goals.
• Oglesby and Weinrich each recorded a game-high four steals.
• The Golden Eagles blocked five shots tonight, the most since blocking six against MACU back in November.

Up Next
 
The Golden Eagles will return to the Mabee Center next week as they prepare to face North Dakota on Thursday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m.
 
For the latest information on ORU women's basketball, follow @ORUWBB on X or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics App in the Google Play or App Store.