Inertia

Women's Basketball

No. 3 Oral Roberts cruises to semifinals with win over No. 6 North Dakota

The Basics
Score: No. 3 Oral Roberts 91, No. 6 North Dakota 68
Records: Oral Roberts (21-11, 9-7 SL), North Dakota (15-17, 7-9 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D



SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 3 Oral Roberts used big runs in the first and third quarters to cruise by No. 6 North Dakota 91-68 in the final quarterfinal of the Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

Jalei Oglesby led all scorers with 27 points and sophomore Taleyah Jones added 23 to lead the Golden Eagles' high-octane opener in their postseason opener.

North Dakota held a 12-7 advantage midway through the opening quarter but an 11-0 run by the Golden Eagles over the nex three minutes gave ORU a lead it would not relinquish.

Oglesby did her damage off the bench once again with 19 of those coming in the first half that saw ORU take a 44-35 lead at the break. It marked the first time this season the Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year scored 20-plus in back-to-back games and sixth time overall.

The Golden Eagles, who entered the postseason as one of the nation's top-10 scoring teams, put up 90-plus points for the 11th time this season as All-League First Team selection Hannah Cooper added 16 points to give ORU three players in double figures.

UND had pulled within six at 52-46 with 6:41 to play in the third quarter but ORU outscored the Fighting Hawks 19-4 over the remainder of the quarter to put the game out of reach.

North Dakota's Kacie Borowicz scored 26 points in her final game as a Fighting Hawk. 

The Golden Eagles will play No. 2 seed North Dakota State in Monday's second semifinal at 3 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
 
Turning Point 
ORU went on an 11-0 run after falling behind 12-7 four minutes into the contest and would never trail again. Oglesby put the Golden Eagles up 13-12 on a driving layup.

Inside the Box Score
  • ORU scored 29 points off of 23 North Dakota turnovers and also had 21 fast-break points in the win.
  • Borowicz finished with 26 in her final collegiate game, scoring 20-plus points for the 16th time this season. She finished her career as a Fighting Hawk with 2,034 points.  
  • The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from inside the arc (28-for-56) but only 25 percent from beyond it (6-for-24).
News & Notes 
  • ORU advanced to the semifinals for the third straight year but have not made a title-game appearance since 2010. As the No. 3 seed, this is the highest the Golden Eagles have been seeded at the tournament since 2015.
  • The Golden Eagles' 21-point marked the third time the program has won a tournament quarterfinal by 20-plus.
  • Oglesby had xxx points off the ORU bench giving her back-to-back, 20-plus point scoring games for the first time this season. The Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year now has six total. 
  • ORU won the only previous matchup between these two at the tournament with a 2022 victory in the quarterfinals.
  • With ORU's victory, the top four seeds advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Prior to that, the top four seeds had only advanced once in the last decade.
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