TULSA, Okla. The South Dakota State women opened Summit League play with a hard-earned 81-76 victory over Oral Roberts on Thursday night at the Mabee Center in Tulsa.
SDSU (11-3) led 66-58 heading into the final quarter. ORU (10-4) then opened the fourth with a 6-0 run to make it 66-64 with 8:13 to play. SDSU pushed the lead back up to seven but the Golden Eagles then scored six-straight to make it 71-70 with just under four minutes left.
Paige Meyer hit a jumper to put SDSU up three but Taleyah Jones responded with a 3-pointer to tie the game with 2:20 left. Katie Vasecka and Jones then traded lay ups and Jones was fouled with 1:36 to play and was heading to the line. She made the first free throw but missed the second. On the other end Vasecka completed an and-one and that put SDSU up 78-76 with 1:20 left.
The two teams traded turnovers on the next two possessions but Ruthie Udoumoh turned it over for ORU with 21 seconds left and that meant the Golden Eagles had to start fouling. Mesa Byom knocked down two free throws with 15 seconds left and then Jones and Makyra Tramble each missed 3-pointers and that sealed the deal for SDSU.
Vasecka scored a career-high 21 points and had five rebounds. She was 4-of-5 from three. Paige Meyer had 18 points and Haleigh Timmer had 11 points and five rebounds. Byom had six points and 10 rebounds. Madison Mathiowetz had nine points and the Golden Eagles held Brooklyn Meyer to just six points and seven rebounds.
SDSU shot 44.4% from the field and was 11-of-31 from three. ORU shot 46% from the field and was 6-of-16 from three.
The Golden Eagles were led by Jones who had 28 points. Emily Robinson had 21 points and Jalei Oglesby and 14 points and eight rebounds.
SDSU won the rebound battle 40-31. The Jacks had 17 turnovers and the Golden Eagles had 12. SDSU was 14-of-19 at the free throw line and ORU was 12-of-13.
The Jacks will remain on the road as they play at Denver on Saturday. Tip off between the Jacks and Pioneers is scheduled for 2 p.m. You can watch the game on the Summit League Network or listen to it on AM 570 WNAX.
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