Cowgirls Roll Past Oral Roberts, 77-48
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season in impressive fashion on Wednesday night, posting a 77-48 win over Oral Roberts in front of 2,452 fans inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
(9-1) had not played since falling to Duke on Dec. 12, but rebounded with its fifth-straight victory over the Golden Eagles (5-7).
The Cowgirls continued their trend of strong defensive performances, forcing into 35 turnovers and limiting the Golden Eagles to an 18-of-61 (29.5 percent) effort from the floor. converted just 11 of its 39 3-point attempts on the night and sophomoreKevi Luper, who entered play as the nation’s No. 7 scorer at 23.5 points per game, was held to five points on the evening.
“I think is a great shooting team and I think sometimes great shooting teams see a zone their eyes light up and just think ‘it’s going to be our night’. I think we did a great job of hustling around tonight,” head coach Kurt Budke said.
Nearly 10 minutes into the contest, held a 16-14 lead, but the Cowgirls used a 24-0 run over the next nine minutes to build a comfortable lead. The Golden Eagles finally put an end to the drought on a 3-pointer by Christian Key with 40 seconds remaining in the half.
During the spurt, sophomore Toni Young scored 10 of her game-high 25 points. The Del City, Okla., native also logged 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Her point output matched her career high set earlier this season against New Mexico.
Young nearly capped her night with the first dunk of her career. Early in the second half, the 6-2 forward blocked a Jaci Bigham 3-point attempt, secured the rebound and raced the length of the floor, but was unable to convert her two-handed attempt.
“We need more nights like that out of Toni. She needs to understand how important she is to this team. I don’t expect 25 points and 10 rebounds every night; I’d like that, but I’d like to see her get more consistent at about 15 or 16 points and eight boards a night. I thought she really brought it tonight,” Budke said.
Updated 12-23-2010
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