High-Scoring ORU Grounds Thunderbirds 115-75

Savanna Buck scored a career-high 23 points on 8-12 shooting, while logging eight boards and three steals in the win.

The Golden Eagles survived a sluggish, foul-fest in the opening five minutes, as ORU was whistled for seven quick fouls, putting Southern Utah in the bonus with 15 minutes still remaining.

Trailing by two (18-20) with 11 minutes showing, the Golden Eagle offense finally began to hit on all cylinders. Over the course of the next nine minutes, ORU got hot to the tune of a 36-12 run and eventually took a 60-37 lead into the half. 

Amber Carver helped lead the early ORU charge, dominating the paint on some key possessions and quickly matching her previous career-high of 12 points by intermission.

ORU kept the heat on in the second stanza, increasing the lead to 30 with 10:57 showing and eventually running the cushion up to 40 on four separate occasions. 

As a team, ORU shot a solid 50 percent from the line, while holding Southern Utah to an icy 37 percent clip. The Golden Eagles also committed only 12 turnovers on the evening, and forced 24 Thunderbird miscues. 

Despite the red-hot offensive numbers, the hosts were only able to manage an 8.3 percent (2-24) showing from distance. 

Kevi Luper led all scorers with 29 points on a 9-15 shooting display.

Carver finished with a career-best 17 points on 7-10 shooting, while chipping in six rebounds and a blocked shot.

Jordan Pyle added 14 points and gobbled up eight boards for ORU.

Challis Pascucci, the Summit League’s Player of the Month for December, led the way for Southern Utah with 19 points and six rebounds.

The victory marks the seventh straight for the Golden Eagles, who improve 12-7 on the year and a perfect 8-0 in the Summit League. Southern Utah falls to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in conference.