The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 81 – Northern Colorado 80
Record: ORU (10-4), (2-0) – Northern Colorado (4-7), (1-1)
Location: Mabee Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

TULSA, Okla. – Hannah Cooper scored her 1,000th career point and hit the game-winning layup in overtime as the Oral Roberts women's basketball team defeated Northern Colorado, 81-80, Wednesday night inside the Mabee Center.

The Golden Eagles have now won four games in a row and extend their home winning streak to eight games.

Jalei Oglesby led ORU in scoring tonight dropping 18 points in just under 18 minutes of play. Oglesby scored 16 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and shot a blistering 9-of-11 from the field. In addition to her high scoring output, Oglesby also pulled down five rebounds.

Hannah Cooper scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime including the game-winning layup with under four seconds remaining. Cooper added in three assists and three rebounds as well.

Taleyah Jones (16), Ruthie Udoumoh (13), and Emily Robinson (11) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Golden Eagles. Jones landed right at her scoring average on the season and shot a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Udoumoh did it all for ORU tonight as the senior forward racked up 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals versus the Bears. Robinson continued her impressive freshman campaign by adding 11 points and three assists while playing crucial minutes late in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Northern Colorado came out firing in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles opened up the scoring after Udoumoh scored on a backdoor cut off a beautiful pass from Meghan Weinrich. The Bears immediately responded with an 8-0 run to take a two point advantage. Weinrich halted the run with a midrange jump shot off the elbow as both teams traded baskets until the first media timeout. Out the break, the two programs to trade two point baskets and UNC lead 18-10 after the first quarter.

Oglesby scored her first two points of the evening at the beginning of the second quarter after converting on a fast break layup. The Bears continued to click on the offensive end of the floor and stretched its' lead out to nine following a layup from Tatum West. After the layup, the Golden Eagles began to find their rhythm on offense and strung together a 7-0 run highlighted by a Robinson three pointer to bring it back to a one possession game. The Bears led 23-21 at the second quarter media timeout. The closing minutes of the first half were back and forth as the Golden Eagles were finally able to take the lead after a Weinrich jump shot with 27 seconds remaining. ORU's lead was short-lived, however, as Hannah Simental drove right down the floor and drained a three pointer to put UNC up 31-29 at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Golden Eagles looked like a completely different team with a higher attention to detail on defense. ORU played the Bears tight during the first couple of minutes, but UNC slowly grew its lead back out to seven by the media timeout. Out of the break, Jones drained her first three of the game to spark the beginning of an ORU rally. The Golden Eagles put together a 6-0 run of their own in the final three minutes with points coming from Weinrich, Udoumoh, and Jones. Going into the fourth quarter, the Bears led 50-46.

Cooper and Oglesby found their groove on offense in the fourth. The lethal scoring combo accounted for 17 of ORU's 24 fourth quarter points. Cooper went to work early scoring on a layup plus the foul in the first possession for the Golden Eagles. Jones followed shortly after converting on her own layup plus to foul to bring energy to the ORU bench. Cooper got another layup to fall before Oglesby tooi over. Oglesby scored on three straight Golden Eagles possessions and gave ORU a 62-61 lead at the media timeout. A pair of Udoumoh free throws and a jumper by Cooper gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the game (5) with 3:34 remaining. The Bears would not back down, though, and a quick 7-0 burst gave them a two point lead. Cooper evened the score hitting a jump shot in the paint before Oglesby put the Golden Eagles up two with a baseline floater. Hannah Simental answered for UNC knotting the score at 70 apiece with 24 seconds remaining. ORU had a chance to win the game in the final seconds but could not get the shot to fall as both teams prepared for overtime.

Oglesby continued her stellar performance and converted on a layup on ORU's first possession in overtime. Three free throws by Delaynie Byrne gave the Bears a 75-73 lead with 1:50 to play. Oglesby responded and connected on three straight possessions to put the Golden Eagles up two with 34 seconds remaining. On a broken offensive possession, the Bear's somehow found Simental wide open for a three that she drained with 13 seconds remaining. ORU quickly inbounded the ball to Cooper who drove the length of the floor and used a seal by Sara Rodrigues to get to the rim and score the layup with less than four seconds remaining. After a timeout, the Bears got a look with a Simental three point attempt, but it was just wide and the Golden Eagles came away with thee 81-80 win in the first game of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge.

The Leaders
 
Oral Roberts: Oglesby scored a team-high 18 points while shooting 9-of-11 from the floor. Udoumoh grabbed six boards and dished out a season-high four assists.
 
Northern Colorado: Hannah Simental led all scorers dropping a career-high 27 points. Aniah Hall grabbed 12 rebounds and Gabi Fields recorded seven assists.

Inside the Box Score

• Tonight's victory marked ORU's eighth straight win at home as the Golden Eagles are undefeated inside the Mabee Center this season.
• Star guard Hannah Cooper crossed the 1,000 point mark in her ORU career.
• For the fourth game in a row, five Golden Eagles scored in double-figures. Oglesby led the way with 18 followed by Jones (16), Cooper (13, Udoumoh (13), and Robinson (11).
• ORU's full court pressed forced the Bears into committing 23 turnovers.
• The Golden Eagles collected 14 steals and scored 25 points off of UNC's turnovers.
• Tonight's win was the first ORU overtime victory since defeating St. Thomas back in the 2021-22 season.
• Oglesby posted a game-high +7 plus/minus rating.
• ORU's bench continues to be a productive unit scoring 21 points tonight.
• The Bears outrebounded the Golden Eagles 50-30.
• ORU dominated in fast break points outgaining UNC 15-2.
• The Golden Eagles scored 44 of their 81 points in the paint.
• ORU recorded 16 assists on 33 made field goals.

Up Next
 
The Golden Eagles fly out to California to face Sacramento State on Saturday at 4 p.m. central time for their second game of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge.
 
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.